The average driver spends 12p per mile on fuel
The average British driver could save up to £750 per year in fuel costs, simply by switching to an electric vehicle. According to research conducted by the Go Ultra Low campaign, the average cost to fuel a diesel or petrol vehicle is around 12p per mile, whereas an ultra-low emissions vehicle (one that emits less than 76g/km of CO2), costs just 2p to run per mile. Nationwide, if all motorists were to switch to electric vehicles, the overall saving would be £24.5 billion per year from the country’s 32.6m cars.
Electric vehicles also have the advantage over diesel or petrol fuelled vehicles in that drivers do not have to pay congestion charges, road tax and can often take advantage of free parking. Businesses in particular have been taking advantage of the monetary savings made by switching to electric vehicles as fleets that cover a high number of miles can enjoy lower fuel costs. Electric cars are also subject to a lower amount of company car tax, being charged 5% compared to 35% for the most polluting of company cars.
Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles may not be the obvious option for money-savvy drivers forever
Although there are currently many obvious financial incentives for buying an electric vehicle, motorists have been warned that these cannot go on forever. It’s estimated that due to the surge in popularity of the electric vehicle, vehicle excise duty will lose £5bn in revenue per year by 2030. Ultra-low emissions vehicles will no longer be exempt from tax from 1st April 2017, due to the revision of the VED car tax bands. Only zero-emissions vehicles will be exempt from car tax.
We’ll be interested to see how the changes coming into effect in 2017 will affect the growing popularity of the electric vehicle and could reduce your insurance costs.