Car Cost Index : EVs becoming more and more competitive on costs

Our 2019 Car Cost Index shows that EVs are already fully cost-competitive with traditional internal combustion engines in Norway and the Netherlands, with the UK (as well as other countries, such as Denmark) just a little way behind. The UK is also the second cheapest country in Europe for owning an electric vehicle (after Greece).

What makes these figures even more exciting is that we haven't included employee costs (such as benefit-in-kind tax) in the calculations. When you add them in, it can potentially make electric vehicles significantly more affordable in some countries.

Our analysis also has some interesting findings on how the costs of traditional and electric vehicles vary. As you might expect, depreciation is the largest factor for both, but it makes up more than half of the cost for an electric vehicle, but only a little more than a third for traditional engines. Electric vehicles save from lower fuel costs and taxes, as well as cheaper maintenance across Europe. If they start to hold their value better, it could see a big shift in the cost-competitiveness figures.

Tex Gunning, CEO of LeasePlan, welcomes these findings, but also sounds a cautionary note on the future of electric vehicles in Europe. He says,

Our Car Cost Index shows electric vehicles are becoming more affordable than ever, especially in Northern Europe, where government incentives are having a positive impact.

While it's good to see the cost gap closing in other countries, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure everyone can drive electric. We are also seeing a worrying tendency from policymakers to remove EV incentives, which will significantly slow down the fight against climate change and poor air quality in our towns and cities.

Total monthly cost of ownership, by country and fuel type (sorted by EV price):

Read the full Car Cost Index in our our report here.

If you’re interested in seeing how LeasePlan can help keep you make the transition from traditional fuels to electric please speak to your Account manager about our Sustainability Review.

Alternatively get in touch with a member of our expert team using our online form or call 01753 802448 – we’re always happy to hear from you.

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  The LeasePlan Car Cost Index 2019 is available to download at https://www.leaseplan.com/corporate/news-and-media/newsroom/
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  The 18 countries included in the Car Cost Index are: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
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  All costs are averaged over the first three years of ownership and assume 20,000 km of driving a year.
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  The data is based on corporate lease contracts and not on private lease contracts. Furthermore, employee costs (like benefit-in-kind tax, which can greatly reduce the consumer cost of EVs) are not included.
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  Due to changes in the car models included in the analysis and general technological improvements (including more powerful and energy efficient batteries in certain EVs), one-on-one comparisons to last year’s Car Cost Index may not always be valid.
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  LeasePlan has committed itself to achieving net zero emissions from its total fleet by 2030. LeasePlan is also a founding partner of The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative, launched around the UN General Assembly in September 2017