They do not need oil changes, clutch, oil or air filter, etc. Moreover, the electric cars themselves have far fewer moving parts, so overall they are less prone to wear. Consequently, maintenance costs should be lower, but by how much exactly? To answer this question, AvtoPortal conducted a small online survey, and here are the figures we found from electric car manufacturers:
- As Ford claims, the electric crossover Mustang Mach-E will save its owner more than 60% of costs over 5 years of ownership.
- According to Audi's calculations, the cost of maintaining electric cars – the e-tron and e-tron Sportback crossovers – is 40% less compared to their petrol counterparts.
- Volkswagen provides similar data (citing the German organization Für Automobilwirtschaft (IFA): maintenance and repair costs for electric cars are 35% lower.
As you can see, the difference in maintenance costs is evident, and electric cars are the big winners here. However, the financial benefit of buying an electric vehicle still remains questionable: firstly, such cars themselves are expensive; secondly, charging is not always cheap (especially with fast chargers); and finally, thirdly, if the electric car's battery fails, the owner gets a big hit to the wallet.
