Although getting a new electric car can often cost more than a new traditional car with an internal combustion engine, driving an EV is almost always guaranteed to help you save more money over time. It’s no surprise that across the world, drivers are saving money by powering their daily commutes with electricity rather than petrol or diesel. On average, drivers can save thousands of pounds per year in fuel costs just by switching to a car powered by electric instead.
If you are in the market for a new car and are wondering if an electric car might be the best option for you, then here are some of the top reasons why making the switch is a great idea.
Buy or Lease
There are lots of options available when it comes to getting a new electric car. While the second-hand market is not as large compared to internal combustion engine cars, there are plenty of options to choose from, and you can either buy or lease a new electric car. Many drivers choose leasing, as this option allows them more freedom to change their car for a new one after a few years, and there’s no need to worry about losing money due to depreciation of value, as is the case when you buy a car outright or even on finance.
Many leasing deals available for electric cars today will offer more than just the car; you can find options that include insurance and even free use of charging points available publicly throughout the country. Check out this guide on leasing electric vehicles for more information.
Cheaper to Run
Compared to a traditional petrol or diesel car, it’s impossible to deny that an electric car will be cheaper to run. If you’ve seen the price of fuel in the UK recently, that might be all you need to convince you that getting an electric car might be the right solution for you to help you save money over time. Since electric cars do exactly what they say on the tin and run purely on electric, you don’t need to fill them up with any fuel at all.
Hybrid cars will still run on petrol or diesel, but they often require less and do not need to have the tank refilled as often, as the electric battery can take over. If you charge your electric car at home this might lead to a spike in your electricity bills, but overall, it will cost much less compared to filling a traditional car with petrol every week.
Lower Maintenance Costs
Another money-saving benefit of driving an electric car is that they don’t cost as much to maintain. They don’t have an internal combustion engine, so as a result, there are lots of different mechanical components that your EV simply does not have. Without all the parts that would require routine servicing on a traditional car such as oil changes, air filter changes, spark plugs and drive brakes, you don’t need to get your EV serviced as much, and when you do, there’s less to actually service. Along with this, since electric cars use regenerative braking, there’s much less wear and tear on the brake pads and discs. While they will need replacing eventually, it’s likely to be much longer before they do compared to a traditional internal combustion engine car.
Tax Incentives
Another way that you can save money when you drive an electric car is with tax savings. There is no vehicle tax to pay on most electric cars, so that’s one monthly or annual bill that you don’t need to pay any more. Along with this, electric cars do not create any emissions, so they are exempt from any additional fees and charges for driving through certain areas. For example, if you live in London, you won’t have to pay the congestion charge for driving your car in the city, and you’ll also be exempt from paying the fees in the ULEZ or ultra-low emissions zone. With more low emissions zones and clean air zones being implemented throughout the country, an electric car is a futureproof choice to ensure that you’re not paying more than you need to for driving.
Great Battery Life
Range anxiety is something that can be quite common among EV drivers, where you’re often worrying about if your car is going to have enough charge in the battery to get from one place to the next. However, this is now a non-issue with lots of newer electric cars now on the market with an excellent range. You can drive long-distance in a lot of electric cars without the need to recharge them. Many can do two hundred or even three hundred miles before they need recharging, which is quite similar to internal combustion engine cars when it comes to when they need more petrol in the tank.
Easy Charging
Charging your EV has become easier than ever with lots of different options to choose from. If you prefer, you can have an EV charger installed at your home, and there are government grants available to help you cover the cost of this. This makes charging your car just as easy as charging your smartphone or laptop. All you need to do is plug it in overnight and you are ready to head to work the next morning, without wasting time going to the petrol station to fill up.
Along with this, lots of places are now installing public EV chargers for you to use. You might have one at your workplace where you can charge your car throughout the day ready for the drive home, or you can find them in many supermarket car parks so you can conveniently charge your car when you’re shopping. Ultimately, it’ll help you save time and be less stressed as there’s no need to worry about heading to the petrol station for fuel or queuing up for a pump when you’re already in a rush.
Kinder to the Environment
Driving an EV has some massive emissions benefits. When you make the switch from an internal combustion engine car to an electric car, you’re doing a lot to reduce harmful air pollution that is caused by traditional car exhaust systems. The pollutants that are present in car exhaust systems can cause or aggravate severe health problems like bronchitis and asthma. Along with this, harmful liquids can leak from traditional cars, seeping into the limited water supplies and soil, harming the plants and animals around them. Cars are one of the biggest contributors to pollution and climate change in the world today, and if living in a greener, cleaner world that is made safer for future generations is something that is important to you, then switching to an electric car can be one of the best decisions you can make.
Electric cars are not only cool, but they are also fun to drive, don’t take a lot of maintenance, and will save you a lot of money on fuel in the long run as you can charge your car at home or using the public network of chargers. Newer models are super convenient and can drive for ages before you need to recharge.
