Why Buy an Electric Vehicle?

Why should you make the switch to purchasing an electric vehicle?

Electric Cars are More Cost-Effective

Firstly, electric cars are cheap to run. Battery electric vehicles are significantly cheaper than their petrol or diesel competitors. Maintenance costs of these cars are low because their motors have few moving parts. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles cost around the same as conventional cars to maintain due to their petrol/diesel engine, however, their running costs are lower when driven in Electric vehicle mode.

According to Energywise.govt.nz, the reason why Electric vehicles are much cheaper than their gas-guzzling conventional predecessors because you can charge your electric vehicle at home overnight, using New Zealand’s cheap off-peak electricity rates. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, or EECA in NZ has calculated that the fuel running cost of an electric vehicle is the equivalent of paying only $0.30/L, which is approximately 15% of the cost of running an equivalent sized petrol vehicle. This is an estimation and will vary depending on the car make, but the evidence is in: electric vehicles are long-term money savers.

Electric Cars are Environmentally Friendly

Secondly, electric vehicles are environmentally friendly, emitting 80% less CO2 than their equivalent petrol vehicle when being driven in New Zealand, according to the EECA. This is because our electricity here is at least 80% renewable! (Means that it is sourced from hydro, geothermal, and wind). EECA also states that “battery Electric Vehicles emit 60% fewer climate change emissions over their full life cycle than petrol vehicles, even when you take into account raw material extraction, battery manufacture, vehicle manufacture, and shipping.” Find more information on the full report of the assessment of the life cycle of an electric vehicle here.

Other Advantages:

A few other advantages of purchasing an electric vehicle include its great torque, quietness to drive, and great handling. Electric vehicles can accelerate quickly and smoothly, even from a standstill, with no gears to work through. They are also quiet to drive, and they also handle well, meaning that the battery weight in these vehicles gives them a lower center of gravity, so they are less likely to roll.

Whilst there are a lot of attractive benefits to purchasing or making the switch to an electric vehicle, electric vehicles can be more expensive to purchase than their petrol or diesel running counterparts, especially when purchased brand new. But as these cars cost far less to run, they are a long-term cost-effective investment. The NZ government is also proposing to subsidize electric vehicles in the future.