Electric vehicle vs petrol – looking at what you could save!
The Electric Vehicle (EV) Wedge represents the difference in price it costs you to fuel a petrol vehicle versus powering an electric vehicle. The “wedge” being the money you will save by not having to use petrol. This price difference is obviously relative to the country you live in, as the cost of electricity and petrol will impact this price.
The above graph represents the money you will save by opting to power an EV over a petrol vehicle, relative to other countries.
According to ‘Shrinkthatfootprint.com’ – in almost all countries, the electric vehicle is by far the cheaper option and in some countries the gap is so large that, “EV drivers can’t sit straight for all the cash in their wallet.”
Shrinkthatfootprint.com compares the costs between running a Toyota Camry (petrol) versus the popular Nissan LEAF (electric), relative to ten different countries.
The above graph shows that if you were living in the UK and chose to drive a Nissan LEAF rather than the Toyota Camry – you would be able to save approximately R264,000 ($22000) after 150 000km. The 2015 Nissan LEAF retails for around R450 000 in South Africa.
Considering that the c/kWh is approximately 50% higher in the UK ($1.36/kWh) relative to South Africa ($0.9/kWh), one could potentially save a considerable amount of money by driving an electric vehicle. Increases in the price of petrol will also have a considerable effect on the amount you save, as well as the huge benefits to the environment by opting to drive a vehicle with little to no carbon footprint.The downside in South Africa is of course the lack of infrastructure – one would struggle to find available charging points away from home. This combined with the current unreliable nature of the national power grid, one is right to think twice. Definitely something to consider in the next few years though! If BMW and Nissan have anything to do with it.