Drivers in the UK will save on average £688 on fuel a year by switching from petrol to an electric car
With the recent UK ban on new fossil fuel cars by 2030, leading dealership Pentagon Group wanted to see how much money could be saved a year from making the switch from a petrol car to an electric vehicle. It compared a Vauxhall e-Corsa with a like-for-like petrol city car in its latest study, to reveal the true financial benefits of driving an electric car, and also other variables like location, commuting and used vehicles.
Driving or public transport; which is the most cost-effective commute?
Taking the average commute times by hour for all countries in the UK and looking at the average fuel and electricity costs*, it is able to calculate the money spent on commuting each year. Comparing this to the cost of using public transport, Pentagon Group is able to reveal which works out cheaper.
*Average petrol cost 114p (7.5p per mile) | Average electricity 1.2p per mile | Average MPG 38.8 | Average year is based on a 48 working week taking into consideration holiday allowance.
East of England saves the most money in the UK when making the switch
The third highest earning region in the UK (with an average yearly salary of £31,460) and the region that travels the furthest every day – the East of England – saves a massive £904.49 a year in fuel costs with the swap to a second-hand electric vehicle.
The annual total spend to get to and from work in an electric vehicle is just under £90 for this region!
Londoners spend 1.7% of their annual salary on commuting – reducing to 0.15% with the switch to electric.
Those who commute in London via car are spending 1.7% of the average annual salary (£37,232) on petrol just to go to and from work. That’s £641 per year. But don’t forget the potential congestion charge, costing £3,600 a year on top of that.
Swapping to an electric car in London will cost just £57.60 a year on electricity and means you don’t have to pay the congestion charge. There are also numerous free and reduced-rate charging points in London to make use of.
Compare this to the average annual season train ticket cost of £3,067, driving an electric vehicle to and from work will save you just over £3,000 if you live in London.
Buying a second-hand electric vehicle works out cheaper in the long run
It’s clear from the savings made by each region that you can make some significant savings by switching from petrol to electric. Whilst it is cheaper to commute in London via EV, public transport may be the preferred option due to ease.
Jonathan Lingham, Marketing Director at Pentagon Motor Group comments: “The efficiency of electric cars as a viable fossil fuel alternative has been long debated and discussed. One of the reasons we ran this study was to truly reveal the benefits to drivers through a financial saving. £688 on average can be a large sum to most households around the UK, and when you factor in the majority have 2-3 cars, it’s a bit of a no-brainer for any driver considering their next vehicle in a cost-effective way; not to mention the environmental benefits.”
“It’s great to see more second-hand EVs coming into the market. This can be a cheaper alternative. Many customers at first assume that EVs will be more expensive or need to be brand new to be efficient; this is not the case. A smaller expense at the beginning for an EV over a traditional ICE option can reap benefits in the long term; especially with the recent ban on new fossil fuel cars from 2030,” concludes Jonathan.
