Electric car owners 'driving for free' for the rest of the year as petrol motorists risk huge costs

Dubbed "Electric Car Day", July 15 is the crossover day when a petrol driver spends more on fuel than an electric car owner will spend for an entire year.

The milestone event was seen on August 1 last year, with EV drivers seeing savings thanks to lower energy prices, helping them cut costs even quicker.

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Some drivers will make significant savings even earlier, with owners of certain vehicles discovering the crossover date even earlier.

This includes those with a Tesla Model Y Long Range, which when charged with an off-peak tariff, can see payments surpassed by petrol drivers as early as March 10.

The equivalent day for carbon emissions is March 5, when a petrol car will have released more carbon emissions than an EV will for the whole year of driving and power consumption.

In terms of emissions, the average petrol car owner will see their vehicles expel around 2,000kg of harmful pollutants, compared to 352kg from EV power consumption.

As with costs, the date for petrol cars to surpass EVs with emissions will come earlier as more renewables are added to the power grid over time.

Thom Groot, CEO and co-founder of The Electric Car Scheme, said: "For the rest of the year, electric car drivers can be safe in the knowledge that petrol drivers have already spent as much as they will all year to drive.

"This is on top of knowing that since early March, EV drivers have been effectively driving totally emission-free when compared to traditional cars, not to mention the vast amounts of pollution taken out of our villages, towns and cities and the health benefits that brings.

"It’s well known that driving an EV brings down your fuel costs and emissions, but it is not always the easiest thing to visualise, which is why we came up with the idea of the 'Electric Car Day' to show just what a huge impact making the switch can have."

There are estimated to be around 1.1 million electric vehicles on British roads, while Zapmap data shows there are almost 65,000 public charging devices, in addition to 700,000 home and workplace chargers.

Experts note that some people looking to switch from a petrol or diesel vehicle to an electric car will still have some reservations, namely the battery range and provisions seen around the UK for charging.

With the new Labour Government still aiming for 300,000 public chargers by the end of the decade, drivers can be buoyed by the progress being made to improve charging facilities around the country.

Commenting on the fears, Edmund King, President of the AA, said new measures were being introduced to help motorists.

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He said: "We understand why some drivers have been hesitant about EVs due to higher upfront costs, but with prices coming down and running costs falling, it could be the right time for a new cohort of people to consider if an electric car is right for them.

"The data shows a clear delineation in the relative costs and environmental impacts of driving a petrol car, which is hard to ignore, especially as the date when a petrol driver spends more on fuel than an electric driver will over an entire year creeps ever earlier.”