EV vs Petrol Comparison

Total cost of ownership: why the sticker price misses most of the story

An electric car often costs more to buy than a petrol equivalent. But the list price is only one number in a much larger equation. Fuel, road tax and company car tax combine to make the running cost picture very different from the purchase price. For a higher-rate taxpayer in a company car, BIK tax alone can cost thousands more per year in a petrol than in an equivalent EV.

The BIK gap is the biggest factor for fleets. HMRC has published confirmed EV BIK rates all the way to 2029/30 — rising from 4% in 2026/27 to 9% in 2029/30. For a petrol car at 130g/km CO2, the rate stays around 31–34% across the same period. Over a three-year lease, the difference in driver tax alone often offsets a significant portion of the EV's higher list price.

This tool calculates fuel cost, VED and BIK in one place so you can see the actual gap, not just the headline figures. The CSV export makes it easy to present the comparison to drivers or finance teams considering a fleet transition.

What the comparison does not include

Depreciation is the largest single cost in a car's lifetime and is not included here because it requires licensed residual value data (CAP HPI or Glass's) to calculate accurately. It varies by make, model, mileage and condition. For a complete whole-life cost comparison, use our Car Running Costs tool and enter the residual value manually.

Service, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs are also excluded for the same reason. In practice, EVs typically have lower SMR costs than petrol equivalents — fewer moving parts, no oil changes, regenerative braking reduces brake wear — but the exact saving varies by model and usage.