In just a few years, it’s predicted that electric cars will more friendly to your wallet as well as the environment, due to falling battery costs and more efficient economies of scale.
One of the most powerful arguments swaying consumers away from buying electric cars was simply the price differential, since fossil fuelled alternatives are generally cheaper. But in just six short years, that could all be changed according to data from Bloomberg NEF.
The Guardian reports that larger electric vehicles such as SUVs could be cheaper to manufacture than petrol or diesel versions by 2026, and the same will be true of electric cars and vans by 2027.
Due to the falling production cost of batteries, and the economies of scale resulting from dedicated production lines for electric vehicles, the cars are forecast to be cheaper to manufacture even without taking into account the subsidies and other economic incentives for purchasing the vehicles.
Related: The Tesla Model 3 beat fossil fuel rivals to become the UK’s most popular car in December
Getting into specifics, the report states the current pre-tax retail price of a medium-size electric car is currently €33,300 (approx. £29,000), while a comparable petrol car costs €18,600 (~£16,000). By 2026, both are predicted to cost about €19,000 (~£16,350) and in 2030, the electric model is expected to cost just €16,300 (~£14,000).
The estimate actually is fairly conservative compared to other forecasts, such as that of investment bank UBS, which reckons that electric vehicles will achieve price parity in 2024.
In the UK, sales of new fossil fuel cars will be banned from 2030 onwards so it’s certainly good news for consumers that prices are tumbling ahead of that date. The two remaining problems that must be solved to really put motorists’ minds at ease are that of vehicular range and greater charging infrastructure, but it’s fair to say that the electrical revolution is well underway.
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