Whether electric cars are cheaper than combustion engines is up to the driver

In terms of overall costs, electric cars are still often more expensive than combustion models. This is the result of an evaluation published on Tuesday by the ADAC in Munich from the fall of this year. According to this, the prices for electric vehicles have “tend to fall, but they are often still higher than those for diesel and gasoline models.”

In addition, according to ADAC, charging costs at public charging stations remain high and fuel prices are currently at a “moderate” level. For its evaluation, the automobile club compared the different vehicles based on the total costs of purchasing, operating and maintaining the cars.

According to the information, the BMW iX2 eDrive20, for example, costs 72.7 cents per kilometer with a new price of 50,000 euros and an electricity price of 44 cents per kilowatt hour. The diesel counterpart X2 sDrive18d Steptronic is cheaper to purchase at 48,000 euros and costs 68.1 cents per kilometer with a diesel price of 1.58 euros per liter.

With the Mini Countryman, however, switching from the combustion engine to the electric car can be worthwhile. The electric model costs 56.1 cents per kilometer, while both combustion models are four cents more expensive and cost the same to purchase and even more for diesel.

Charging behavior also plays a role in the decision for or against an electric car, as the automobile club explained. Anyone who charges almost exclusively at home with cheap solar power or even for free from their employer “is often cheaper to drive an electric car”. By carefully researching the market and evaluating your own charging behavior, you could identify “quite competitive price advantages for electric vehicles.”

When it comes to total costs, the ADAC assumes that a new car will be driven for five years and cover 15,000 kilometers per year.