EV motorists are now effectively driving for ‘free’ for the rest of the year compared to the average petrol driver, new research indicates.

Thom Groot, co-founder and CEO of The Electric Car Scheme

The Electric Car Scheme has crunched the numbers to work out a new version of the “unequal pay day” or “tax freedom day” for EV drivers.

It says that as of today (1 August), the average petrol driver has paid more in fuel costs than an EV driver will all year. And it’s dubbed it ‘Electric Car Day’ to mark the milestone.

The sal-sac specialist analysed the annual fuel costs for the average UK driver travelling 7,400 miles a year – estimated to be £1,268 for petrol drivers and £740 for electric car drivers using home charging on off-peak prices.

That means a petrol driver will have spent more on fuel by the start of August than an EV driver will all year – with the latter essentially getting five months of free driving.

This milestone would have been hit on 7 July last year as petrol prices were even higher, meaning almost half of the year’s fuel costs could have been saved. In future years the day could get even earlier as the costs of petrol rise and electricity bills return to normal levels.

And the benefits are even greater environmentally: the average petrol car had already emitted more carbon emissions by 8 March than an electric car would for a whole year of driving and power consumption.

Thom Groot, CEO and co-founder of The Electric Car Scheme, commented: “The next time you pull into a petrol station to fill your car up, take a second to think through how much you’ve spent on petrol already this year. If you were driving an electric car that money you’ve already spent would be your total fuel cost for the year – but instead you’ll have to pour loads more cash into your petrol tank before the year is out. And that’s not even considering the emissions being belched out of your exhaust.”

He added: “We know that upfront costs remain higher for electric cars, which is why we created The Electric Car Scheme to get more drivers behind the wheel of one affordably. The scheme works with salary sacrifice so drivers get savings of up to 60% on a lease – a bit like the Cycle to Work scheme, but for electric cars.”

AA president Edmund King also commented on the research, adding: “The data is clear: It’s far more affordable to drive an electric car than one powered by petrol, or indeed diesel, and that difference is likely to grow in the next couple of years.

“EVs remain more expensive upfront than petrol cars, but prices are coming down so I’d encourage anyone to work out whether an EV might be a better deal for them financially and environmentally in the long run. The AA is also campaigning for the Government to cut VAT for on-street charging and to reduce VAT on certain EVs to make them more affordable in the first place.”