Are EVs Really More Expensive To Operate Than Gas Cars?

We hear these things all the time. Electric vehicles catch fire all of the time (not true.) They pollute the air more than gas vehicles do (not at all.) They’ll leave you stranded when you need them the most (this is exceedingly rare.) Here’s another myth that’s gotten a big boost from a leading newspaper in Great Britain: EVs are actually vastly more expensive to drive than “petrol”- or diesel-powered cars. But when you run the math as we did, the answer is far more nuanced—and probably more in EVs’ favor than you’ve been told. 

Welcome back to EV Myths Discharged, where every month, we're trawling the socials to find out which bit of anti-EV rhetoric is getting the most traction, then putting it to the test.

This month, we're looking closely at this September piece from The Times. The British paper claimed that EVs are too expensive and impractical, ending with a conclusion that hybrids are the way to go. In particular, it singles out public DC fast chargers—defined here as plugs with at least 50 kW charging speeds, so way more than a home charger. And the newspaper isn’t wrong when it claims frequent DC fast-chargers can raise eyebrows with their overall energy costs.

There is definitely some truth here, but I have several issues with this piece. For one thing, I’ve seen a lot of Americans circulating this around, and it's important to note that many significant elements of this piece are specific to drivers in the UK. 

One key aspect is housing. Roughly half of the UK’s populace lives in apartments, or flats, as they call 'em. This, the article states, means that at-home charging isn't feasible for many. In the U.S., per the most recent census, that figure is much lower at 18.5%. In other words, far more Americans can install a home charger. 

Another issue I have is that this piece doesn't cite any specific vehicles. Instead, it references "average" figures for both electric cars and internal combustion models. Working with averages isn't the end of the world, except that those average figures quoted in the article differ from the averages calculated by the RAC (effectively the UK equivalent of the AAA), which provided the charging costs used by the Times. 

It's especially curious that the Times' chosen efficiency figures make EVs look a little worse than the RAC's quoted average (3.3 mi/kWh vs. the RAC's 3.5 figure) while they make internal combustion vehicles look better (43 mpg vs. the RAC's 40.) I should also note that due to Americans’ proclivity for larger vehicles our cheaper gas, our fuel economy average was 26 mpg in 2022. With the growth in hybrids since then it’s probably gone up, but it’s a good reminder for American readers that we’re not really apples-to-apples with the Brits. 

Regardless, let's see if we can't do a little better on the transparency front. I'm going to do the math and show my sources so that you can see exactly how much you're looking at spending on a per-mile basis. And if that's not enough, we'll look at a few other ways that EVs can save you money in the long run compared to a traditional car with a traditional, internal combustion engine.

Enter The Silverado
There are a few ways to slice this, but I'm going to start by choosing one vehicle that's available in all three fuel permutations: gasoline, diesel, and electric.

Now, I was tempted to ignore diesel since that isn't really a factor in the U.S. like it is in Europe, but there have been a few options available with all three. Both are trucks, with one being the Ford F-150. However, since Ford phased out the Power Stroke diesel a few years ago, I went with a different option: the Chevrolet Silverado.

I did the math based on the official 2024 EPA figures, choosing the most efficient 4WD trim for the 3.0-liter turbo diesel inline-six, the 2.7-liter turbo gasoline four-cylinder, and the all-electric Silverado EV. 

For the diesel truck, the EPA figure is 24 mpg combined. For the 2.7-liter gasoline engine, it's 19 mpg. For the Silverado, it's officially EPA-rated at 51 kWh/100 miles, which works out to just a tick under 2 mi/kWh. Like many other large EV trucks, that efficiency number isn’t great due to the size of the vehicle and the battery pack involved, just as a bigger car with a bigger engine will be less efficient than, say, a Toyota Corolla.

From there, we need the cost of the fuel. According to AAA, the average gasoline price at the time of writing was is $3.135 for regular and $5.575 for diesel. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of American electricity is $0.178 per kWh. That's easy enough. Sadly, fast charging is a lot more difficult to price. The major U.S. networks vary their rates based on locale, but from what I was able to find, $0.50 per kWh is a good average. So, how does that work out per mile?

• Silverado Diesel: $0.15 per mile
• Silverado Gasoline: $0.17 per mile
• Silverado EV at home: $0.09 per mile
• Silverado EV fast charging: $0.26 per mile

That's pretty much in line with the Times estimates, showing that if your only option is remote, fast charging, you are indeed going to spend more. 

But unless you're driving a big, inefficient truck, those numbers aren't necessarily relevant. That's doubly true because, while electric trucks are catching on, they're still not exactly burning up the sales charts, and diesels have never been much of a factor in this market. So, let's look at something more mainstream. 

A Better American Average
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average fuel economy of all cars in the U.S. market is 24.4 mpg. That group doesn't list the average efficiency of American EVs, but without a doubt, the most “average” EV on the market is the Tesla Model Y. Its efficiency is 3.57 mi/kWh, per the EPA. The per-mile numbers look a lot different here. 

• Average U.S. Gasoline: $0.13 per mile
• Average Model Y at home: $0.05 per mile
• Average Model Y fast charging: $0.14 per mile

When charged at home, the Tesla is almost two-thirds cheaper than an average American car, while it's only one penny per mile more expensive when charged at a remote fast charger. 

Yes, that does make it more expensive on a per-mile basis if you exclusively use fast -chargers. But remember, 80% of charging takes place at home, per the U.S. Department of Energy. If you charge at home 80% of the time, you're still saving a lot of money. This is why we at InsideEVs are such advocates of putting slower, so-called Level 2 chargers in more public places for overnight charging or even fill-ups during grocery runs, movies or trips to the mall. Relying solely on DC fast charging like it’s a gas station is both inconvenient and cost-prohibitive.

But there's one more factor that the Times didn't consider: Maintenance. According to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, it costs $0.10 per mile in maintenance on average to run a car with internal combustion. An electric car? $0.06 per mile. Let's see what that does to the numbers:

• Average U.S. Gasoline: $0.23 per mile
• Average Model Y at home: $0.11 per mile
• Average Model Y fast charging: $0.20 per mile

So, factor in the savings from never having to change oil, flush coolant, and rarely having to replace your brakes, and you're coming out ahead, even if you're exclusively using public charging.

Conclusion
The Times article isn't necessarily wrong, but it has clearly been selective in what data it chose to make a point, and it isn't necessarily relevant here.

For the American market at least, running an EV will almost always save you money over a comparable gas-powered rig, especially if you're paying for maintenance and certainly if you're charging at home. 

Want to do the math yourself? I highly recommend you do. Thankfully, the Department of Energy has a very comprehensive calculator that'll do a lot of the heavy lifting. Have fun running the math yourself—or maths, as our friends across the pond might say.