Blog 3: Let's talk about money

Author: Michael Thompson, 8 September 2021

Firstly let me caveat this article by saying that I am in no way qualified or licensed to give financial advice, so any decision making on buying or leasing an EV should only be taken based on a personal review of your own circumstances. What I can share is some of the experience I had when moving to an EV. 

Leasing: Having previously always bought my cars privately via loans, researching the leasing market did take a little time along with ensuring that my employer was happy with the arrangements (see below reference Company Car Tax). Costs were broadly in line with leasing of a petrol/diesel vehicle so the only issue was access. In the end the leasing deal via Tesla proved the most straightforward to set up with a couple of the independent providers not offering terms. 

Company Car Tax: Right now this is one of the major benefits of moving to an EV. Company Car Tax rates are currently just 1%, rising to 2% next year and 3% the year after. So as a straight comparison to a petrol/diesel company vehicle this is a massive saving.  

Energy Costs: Obviously this is another area of significant potential saving although a lot of factors will influence how much of a saving is realised, not least how you drive and control your right foot. The location of charging is also key to this between home, workplace or public networks (free and chargeable) all with different potential costs of electricity which drive different cost models. But what I have found over the first 2 months is that my energy bill is around 40% of the previous diesel costs. 

Insurance: This was one area which proved an increase in costs for me. Having had personal insurance for many years (and a clean record) moving to the Tesla more than doubled my annual premium, even via our company policy. This may in part be due to the car type with the insurer quoting longer repair times and costs for EVs generally and Tesla in particular. We may hope that as more EV models hit the road the repair bills and times come down, and bring premiums with them. 

Overall Vehicle cost comparison: I did rely on the Tesla website for comparison of overall costs which provides a useful general guide, and many of the newer manufacturers are providing the same so certainly worth checking out. 

Super Deduction: One last potential benefit, albeit for employers, that is worth noting is that workplace EV Charging systems qualify for the Covid Recovery Super Deduction on capital expenditure – that’s a 130% off-set in year one against taxes. And if you’re really looking at Energy costs overall it’s also worth noting that Solar installations, which can be integrated with EV charging systems also qualify. Maybe solar is a topic for a future blog. 

Next blog – Road Trip! 

Charging during a week’s holiday around Scotland, hopefully I make it back!