EV vs Petrol Savings Calculator
Running cost, savings, payback and CO₂ of an electric vehicle versus a petrol/diesel car.
What it does
Compares the yearly running cost and CO₂ of an electric car with a petrol or diesel car, and shows how long the EV’s extra purchase price takes to pay back.
Where it's used
Deciding between an EV and a combustion car.
How to use it
- Enter your currency symbol and yearly distance.
- Enter the fuel car’s mileage and fuel price.
- Enter the EV’s consumption (Wh/km), electricity price and charging efficiency.
- Enter the grid CO₂ factor, ownership period and EV price premium.
The formula explained
- Fuel cost
- km ÷ (km/L) × price per litre
- EV cost
- km × Wh/km ÷ charging efficiency ÷ 1000 × tariff
- Payback
- price premium ÷ yearly saving
Worked example
20 000 km a year, comparing a 12 km/L petrol car with an EV.
Inputs:
- Currency symbol: ₹
- Distance per year: 20000 km
- ICE fuel: Petrol
- ICE mileage: 12 km/L
- Fuel price: 102 /L
- EV consumption: 150 Wh/km
- Electricity price: 7 /kWh
- Charging efficiency: 90 %
- Grid CO₂ intensity: 0.71 kg/kWh
- Ownership period: 5 years
- EV price premium: 300000
The calculator gives:
- Savings per year: ₹ 146,667
- Savings over 5 years: ₹ 733,333
- ICE fuel cost / year: ₹ 170,000
Tips and common mistakes
- Home charging is usually far cheaper than public fast charging.
- EV CO₂ depends on how clean your electricity grid is.
- Include servicing and insurance differences for a full picture.
Questions people ask
How is the cost per kilometre calculated?
Petrol: price per litre ÷ km per litre — 102 / 12 = ₹8.50 per km. EV: Wh per km ÷ charging efficiency × electricity price — 150 / 0.9 Wh at ₹7 per kWh is about ₹1.17 per km.
How long does the EV take to pay for itself?
Extra purchase price ÷ yearly saving. ₹300 000 more, saving about ₹146 700 a year, pays back in a little over 2 years in the example.
Does an EV always produce less CO₂?
It depends on the grid. With a grid at 0.71 kg CO₂ per kWh, the example EV causes about 2.4 t a year against 3.85 t for the petrol car; on a cleaner grid the gap grows.
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Enter your values to get the result with the formula, substituted values and an explanation of each step.