Which pays off more: going electric or going gas?
With the growing popularity of electric vehicles, more and more people are beginning to wonder about the economics of such driving. Despite how much is said about the lower cost of driving electric cars in relation to those powered by gasoline or oil, still little discussed is a similar comparison of the economy of electric and gas-powered vehicles. Is driving an electric car more profitable than a gas car? We will try to answer this question in the following text.
Driving on electricity and driving on gas – which is more economical?
Speaking in the context of driving on electricity, gas or conventional fuels, i.e. oil and gasoline, the first thing that comes to mind is the cost of refueling or charging (in the case of “electrics”) needed to achieve a similar range measured in kilometers. Taking into account the current prices for electricity, which are constantly rising, and the fact that only some people can use electricity from a home socket to charge the car battery, driving such a vehicle is no longer an economical solution. Especially when we compare its cost to that of a LPG car – gas prices remain low, and a full tank of gas will allow you to travel a similar distance, but at a lower price.
Also important are issues related to car repair, or replacement of necessary parts, such as batteries (also known as accumulators) used in electric cars. Currently, leading electric vehicle manufacturers provide an 8-year warranty on the battery and state that replacement will only be done if the battery is fully charged to about 60% of its original capacity. The cost of replacing the battery on your own is very high – in the order of several tens of thousands of zloty, which is a fraction of the expenses associated with the installation of LPG system.
It is also worth bearing in mind that vehicles with LPG systems have been on our roads for many years – the result is a much greater experience of mechanics specializing in repairing LPG cars, which in turn is associated with easier access to specialists, as well as much lower costs incurred by drivers in garages.