Many people say the upfront cost of an EV is a major reason why they can't or won't make the switch to electric. 

But the savings long term could balance out the upfront sting of an EV, as the ownership cost of an electric car is much lower than a petrol car, new data claims. 

Premium EV charging provider Andersen EV has found EV ownership costs are now 50 per cent lower than for an equivalent petrol car.

Comparing running costs of the latest road tax changes, refuelling/recharging, servicing, and insurance, and excluding year-one purchase tax, Andersen EV found that the overall cost of an EV can be as little as £1,154 per annum.

In comparison, it costs £2,316 to run an equivalent petrol car.

However, the savings do depend on the EV owner being able to charge at home.

Analysis compared a petrol 1.2-litre Vauxhall Corsa and a Vauxhall e-Corsa, with both driving 10,000 miles per year.

Based on the current cost of unleaded petrol at 138.98p/litre and the cheapest EV tariff of 5p/kWh, it costs £1,209.13 (or 12.1p/mile) to drive a petrol Corsa 10,000 miles and £115 (or 1.2p/mile) to drive an e-Corsa the same distance.

These EV savings are based on an EV driver who can charge at the cheapest available rate the whole time. 

However, even if the owner doesn't, and simply charges on the average smart home charge tariff price of 7.55p/kWh, the price of driving 10,000 miles is only £174 still.

Currently drivers of EVs pay zero road tax and petrol cars incur a minimum of £190, which can increase if CO2 emissions are higher. 

But from 1 April this will change, with a new EV having to pay £10 road tax year one, which will increase to £190 the second year on the road.

New servicing data estimates that the typical saving made servicing an EV is £63 a year. The Car Expert indicates that an EV driver will pay £232 per annum, while a petrol driver will pay £295.

But the gap widens over time, with the cost disparity widening to a third over half a decade: Servicing an EV will cost £3,857 at the end of a five-year period compared to £5,514 servicing a petrol car over the same period.

In 2023 This is Money reported that servicing costs for an EV were indeed 'significantly cheaper' than all other fuel types.

However, while servicing costs might be less, insurance costs for EVs are currently higher than petrol cars.

January 2025 figures from Confused.com put the amount that EV drivers are likely to pay at £125.81 more per year than a petrol driver. 

It is worth nothing though that EV insurance costs have fallen recently, with Confused.com reporting that EV insurance fell by 18 per cent annually in 2024 alone and predicts average premiums will fall further in 2025 as BEV ownership continues to rise.

David Martell, chief executive of Andersen, said: 'To build increased momentum in the shift to clean electrified mobility, it is crucial that more UK drivers better understand true EV ownership costs – including ultra-low 'smart' charging tariffs, incredible savings on road tax and servicing, and rapid falls in insurance costs.'

While these EV savings sound great they need to be taken with a pinch of salt because a brand new petrol Corsa costs from £18,995 but the electric version has a heftier price tag of £26,107 base price.

So, to make that difference back you'd need to drive for around six years, saving annually on your EV running costs.

However there are cheaper EVs on the market; the Dacia Spring is the cheapest new electric car you can buy and it only costs £14,995, so there are new EVs that will keep upfront costs down. 

EV servicing quotes are less than fuel cars

In 2023, we reported that analysis of 280,000 garage quotes given to drivers revealed fully-electric models are 'significantly cheaper' to service than all other fuel types. 

BookMyGarage.com found that the average cost of an electric car service was £103.

Diesel on the other hand was the most expensive, costing an average of £163, with hybrids second at £159 and petrol in third, costing £151. 

The figures suggested that an EV is almost a third less expensive to service than petrol and 37 per cent cheaper than diesels. 

The report also found that overall garage bills to run an EV are generally lower than petrol and diesels when you also take into account MOTs and repairs.

And it estimates that in total an electric vehicle will cost 43 per cent less than a combustion-engine equivalent in terms of maintenance bills.