Power madness: is electric car driving suddenly more expensive than diesel or petrol engines?

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The electric car is booming. A lot of people think. But how much do the Germans really love the electric car? As a recent study shows, around 15 percent would currently opt for an e-car when buying new cars. In 2021, it was still 6 percent. So interest is increasing. Nevertheless, almost half (49 percent) would still use a gasoline or diesel engine. Despite increasing interest, the electric car has a problem: the exploding electricity prices. But how expensive is the charging of a stroller compared to the fuel filling of a combustion engine?

Charging e-car vs. gasoline and diesel fuel

In order to make the result comparable, we took the VW Golf for the bill, because the model is available as a version with petrol and diesel engines as well as with electric motor. The three models each have an output of 96 kW (gasoline), 110 kW (diesel) and 100 kW (electric car). Although VW has stopped the e-golf. In 2020, however, new cars were still rolling off the line. If the comparison is too lame, you can also take the VW ID.3 as an e-car counterpart to the combustion golf. With an average consumption of 19.3 kWh per 100 kilometers (ADAC), however, consumption is much higher than that of the e-golf. So we expect consumption of:

So much costs electricity and fuel

Electricity prices have recently risen sharply. On average, new customers currently pay about 40 cents per kilowatt hour. Existing customers get a little cheaper. But prices of 99 cents / kWh and more are no exception. This means that if you charge your e-car at home at the wallbox and have no solar system on the roof, you pay an average of 40 cents per kWh. It becomes more expensive at charging stations when the e-car demands energy on the road. The loading column loading jungle is still quite confusing at the moment, as our comparison shows. Sometimes the shop is free, sometimes included in a flat rate and another time providers charge 79 cents per kWh. For the comparison, we therefore assume an average price of 50 cents / kWh.

→ E-cars of the year: these are the price-performance winners of the ADAC

What about the fuel? One litre of diesel currently costs about 1.60 euros on average. Drivers of cars with petrol engines currently have to pay an average of 1.72 euros for one litre of super gasoline.

So expensive are 100 and 12,000 kilometr

The VW Golf in the diesel version consumes 4.8 litres per 100 kilometers. With a price of 1.60 euros per litre, 100 km cost 7.68 euros. The petrol variant of the Gulf is based on a consumption of 6.1 l per 100 km. With the price of 1.72 euros per litre, 100 km cost 10.49 euros. And the e-car? The e-Golf operates at an electricity price of 40 cents / kWh and a consumption of 15.8 kWh per 100 kilometres. Thus, drivers of the electric car cost 100 km exactly 6.32 euros. At an average price of 50 cents per kWh at the charging station, 100 kilometers cost exactly 7.90 euros. Thus, charging the e-golf at home is even cheaper than driving a combustion engine. But those who take the VW ID.3 into the bill instead of the e-Golf are already expensive today at 7.72 euros than with a diesel Golf.

On average, every German drives around 12,000 kilometers per year. If the sums are calculated high, the following annual costs will be incurred:

So if you look only at the cost of charging or recharging, the e-golf has the lead in comparison to its diesel and gasoline counterpart. But the VW ID.3 would be more expensive with 926 euros than the Golf with diesel engine.

Future of e-car and burner

The rising electricity costs are crucial for many car buyers whether the next model becomes a burner or an e-car. Already today, price for a kilowatt hour of one euro is not rarity with the basic provider. Anyone who charges his e-car in order to stay with the e-golf as an example, then still charges at home and has no solar system, comes at 12,000 kilometers a year at the cost of almost 1,900 euros. That is just under 1,000 euros more for the pure refuelling of the electric vehicle than the fuel filling of the diesel. And that's not all. The fact that electricity prices will continue to rise is & quot; as safe as amen in the church, & quot; explains an expert. What about the fuel prices?

→ e-car: Germans are particularly afraid of this when buying

Will diesel and petrol be cheaper again in the future? No, it can't be assumed. Emissions trading for fuels started in 2021 with a CO ₂price of 25 euros per tonne. It has been around 30 euros since the beginning of 2022. The price per litre of petrol and diesel thus increased by almost 8 cents. By 2025, the CO ₂price will gradually rise to 55 euros per tonne. According to the Greens, the price per tonne should even rise to EUR 60-within the next two years. According to a study, the price had to rise to 250 euros per tonne in order to achieve the climate targets by 2030.

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This means that prices for diesel and petrol will increase significantly in the coming years. It is realistic that one litre of super gasoline will cost 2 euros in two to three years. But even if one litre of diesel will cost 2 euros: compared to the e-car, which is charged with a kWh price of one euro, the total cost of 1,252 euros per year is still significantly lower.