Small EVs vs petrol cars: Do EVs help you save money if you drive 30km a day?
Now, we have more options for EVs, even in the small sub-4-metre SUV and hatchback segments. From the Tata Tiago EV and Tata Punch EV
Now, we have more options for EVs, even in the small sub-4-metre SUV and hatchback segments. From the Tata Tiago EV and Tata Punch EV to the Kia Syros EV, Tata Nexon EV and Mahindra XUV 3XO EV, buyers today have plenty of electric choices across different price points. But the bigger question remains: do they actually help you save money over their petrol counterparts? To find out, we compared the entry-level EV variant of each model with a similarly equipped petrol version and calculated how long it would take to recover the additional amount paid for the EV through fuel savings alone. We also looked at what happens when buyers compare an EV with the entry-level petrol variant, which is often how purchasing decisions are made. For the purpose of this calculation, we have assumed a petrol price of Rs 102 per litre in Delhi and a real-world fuel efficiency of 12kmpl. Assumptions used Petrol price (Delhi): Rs 102/litre Fuel efficiency: 12kmpl Petrol running cost: Rs 8.50/km Daily driving distance: 20km and 30km Electricity costs, maintenance, financing charges and resale value have not been included in the calculations. Based on these assumptions, a petrol car would consume fuel worth Rs 170 every day if driven 20km Rs 255 every day if driven 30km EV vs equivalent petrol variant Model EV Price Comparable Petrol Price Extra paid for EV Recovery at 20km/day Recovery at 30km/day Tata Tiago Rs 6.99 lakh Rs 4.70 lakh Rs 2.29 lakh 1,347 days (3.7 years) 898 days (2.5 years) Tata Punch Rs 9.70 lakh Rs 5.70 lakh Rs 4.00 lakh 2,353 days (6.4 years) 1,569 days (4.3 years) Tata Nexon Rs 12.50 lakh Rs 10.40 lakh Rs 2.10 lakh 1,235 days (3.4 years) 824 days (2.3 years) Kia Syros Rs 13.50 lakh Rs 9.82 lakh Rs 3.68 lakh 2,165 days (5.9 years) 1,443 days (4 years) Mahindra XUV 3XO Rs 13.89 lakh Rs 10.30 lakh Rs 3.59 lakh 2,112 days (5.8 years) 1,408 days (3.9 years) What if you compare the EV with the petrol base variant?
Many buyers begin their search by looking at the starting price of a car rather than matching variants. When the entry-level petrol model is taken as the benchmark, the price gap increases substantially. Model EV vs Petrol Base Extra paid for EV Recovery at 20km/day Recovery at 30km/day Tata Tiago Smart EV vs Smart Petrol Rs 2.29 lakh 3.7 years 2.5 years Tata Punch Smart EV vs Smart Petrol Rs 4.00 lakh 6.4 years 4.3 years Tata Nexon Creative Plus EV vs Smart Petrol Rs 5.10 lakh 8.2 years 5.5 years Kia Syros HTK EV vs HTE Petrol Rs 5.08 lakh 8.2 years 5.5 years Mahindra XUV 3XO AX5 EV vs MX1 Petrol Rs 6.10 lakh 9.8 years 6.6 years What do the numbers tell us? The calculations show that the Tata Nexon EV offers the quickest payback among the five models when compared with a similarly equipped petrol variant. At a daily driving distance of 30km, the additional amount paid for the EV can be recovered in around 2.3 years, while someone driving 20km every day would need around 3.4 years. The Tata Tiago EV also makes a strong case. Thanks to its relatively modest price premium, it takes about 2.5 years to recover the additional cost if driven 30km daily and about 3.7 years at 20km a day. The equation changes with the Tata Punch EV, Kia Syros EV and Mahindra XUV 3XO EV.
The BriefWire