Cost of electric cars

Recent cost comparisons by Deutsche Bank’s auto analysts suggest electric cars will be cheaper to operate than conventional vehicles. Fuel costs per mile for gasoline-fuelled cars are $0.27 in Germany, $0.24 in Britain, $0.17 in Brazil and $0.11 in the United States, with differences driven by fuel taxes.

For electric vehicles, the cost per mile is a mere $0.02. If one adds in the cost of a battery amortised over the life of the car, the cost is still only $0.10. Batteries will be expensive, at least in the early years, but electric cars won’t need costly engines or complex transmissions like today’s autos. With fewer moving parts, reliability will increase.

Obviously, it would take a while to replace the existing transportation fleet made up of cars that last 15 years.

Source: WSJ, 08/07/08