I have calculated how much I will spend on gasoline this Easter. I’m already looking for an electric car

Tomorrow, March 28, will mark one month since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in an offensive that appears to be stalling. Four weeks since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed, since the price of oil skyrocketed and gasoline prices skyrocketed. Four weeks paying more for our deposits. Four weeks looking at electric cars with different eyes.

Tied to fuel. The price of gasoline and diesel has fallen significantly since the Government applied the discount on VAT on hydrocarbons. The market, which was beginning to reach two euros/liter, has relaxed in the case of gasoline (1,562 euros/liter on average), according to dieselgasolina.combut it is still very high in the case of diesel, which remains at 1,773 euros/liter.

This gap between diesel and gasoline is making let’s live an unprecedented situation. Already with the war in Ukraine we saw the price of diesel skyrocket. Now, with Russia already out of the market (at least the legal one) and with a new tension in the supply chain, Europe is witnessing an increase in diesel prices for having gotten rid of its refineries over the years.

A considerable saving. Taking prices in Spain as a reference, the savings in the cost of using an electric car were already high in recent years. But this has skyrocketed in the last month. Spain continues to be dependent on diesel for an aging fleet where diesel is used by 57.1% of the total volume of cars, according to Anfac. although new cars sold with this technology are very few. And in Europe the x-ray is very similar.

This has made many look at the electric car with different eyes. How we tell you our calculator and the professionals themselves explainthe more kilometers traveled with an electric car, the cheaper its cost of use. Or, simply, the greater the gap that exists with gasoline.

Let’s give an example, with diesel at 1.773 euros/liter, traveling 100 kilometers with a car that consumes five liters of fuel costs 8.86 euros. In the case of gasoline, if the car consumes seven liters on average, the cost to travel 100 kilometers is 10.93 euros refueling at 1.562 euros/liter. With an electric car that consumes 20 kWh/100 km on the road, the cost is the following:

• Domestic rate (10 cents/kWh): 2 euros/100 km
• Direct current recharging up to 50 kW (20 cents/kWh): 4 euros/100 km
• Direct current recharging up to 150 kW (30-45 cents/kWh): 6-9/100 km
• Direct current recharging above 150 kW (60 cents/kWh): 12 euros/100 km

Winner? Yes, especially the slower we reload. And the comparisons between a combustion car and an electric one are somewhat complicated since the consumption of the car on the road (quite variable between electric cars) and the price of the chargers come into play.

Below we will leave a practical example but first we will make some details clear:

• The consumption of an electric car on the road has important differences. A Tesla Model 3, perhaps the most efficient car at the moment, consumes about 16 kWh/100 km at sustained rates of 120 km/h. A “gastón” car can go at 24 kWh/100 km. That, with high rates, means recharges of up to four euros more per 100 kilometers
• The real savings of an electric car are in slow recharges, especially domestic ones. Here, rates vary greatly. There are flat rates of 15 cents/kWh but those who have license plates and a favorable environment can charge at 0 cents/kWh for a good part of the year. In our case, we are going to assume 10 cents/kWh.
• On a trip like Easter, it is very likely that we will stop to sightsee in a city or to eat. At these stops, slow or direct current charging can be done but at low power, below 50 kW.
• Just as service stations have loyalty cards and programs, electric car users can also take advantage of subscription rates to save money. We will leave them aside because the possibilities in both cases are very wide.

Our example. To understand whether or not we save money, let’s assume that this Easter we add a trip of 2,000 kilometers. In it, we will leave with a full battery, as a typical electric car user would. Our electric car has a range of 400 kilometers. The round trip will take us 1,200 kilometers and we will do another 800 kilometers moving from one place to another, getting to know new places.

Let’s assume that the car’s consumption is 20 kWh/100 kilometers and that the battery has a size of 80 kWh. Thus, we are going to assume the following recharges:

• We leave home with 100% (80 kWh and 400 km) and we stop when we have 10% battery left (8 kWh and 40 km)
• We fill the battery with a high-power charger up to 80% (we have recharged 56 kWh and have 320 km available) and we arrive at the destination with 80 km left in the battery (20%)
• At the destination we charge the battery to 100% to move with a 50 kWh charger.
• We have a second recharge at destination. We are going to do 800 kilometers of tourism, that is two full batteries which is equivalent to the first full recharge already mentioned and a second to have another 400 kilometers ready.
• On our return we will repeat the move: we will charge in our holiday area (third recharge at destination) with a 50 kW charger up to 100%, we will repeat the fast charging on the road at more than 150 kW and we will fill the battery at home to 100% to check the real cost. Here we will arrive with 20% battery.

The expense. Taking all this data, we have the following results:

• First recharge on the way up to 80% (56 kWh at 0.60 euros/kWh): 33.60 euros
• First recharge at destination up to 100% (72 kWh at 0.20 euros/kWh): 14.40 euros
• Second recharge at destination up to 100% (80 kWh at 0.20 euros/kWh): 16 euros
• Third recharge at destination up to 100% (80 kWh at 0.20 euros/kWh): 16 euros
• Second recharge on the way up to 80% (56 kWh at 0.60 euros/kWh): 33.60 euros
• Domestic charging up to 100% (64 kW at 0.10 cents/kWh): 6.40 euros

The total expense with an electric car in this example is 120 euros to travel 2,000 kilometers. That is, the 100 kilometers cost us an average cost of 6 euros. If we add the first domestic recharge, we add 6.40 euros, which makes a total of 126.40 euros and an average cost per 100 kilometers of 6.32 euros.

Gasoline and diesel. To make our calculations, we can take as a reference the cost of our car at current fuel prices. To have a general image, we assume an average consumption of 5 liters/100 km for a diesel and 7 liters/100 km for a gasoline. That is, the diesel needs 100 liters of fuel and the gasoline 140 liters to travel 2,000 kilometers. The expense would be the following:

• Diesel car (100 liters at 1.773 euros/liter): 177.30 euros to travel 2,000 kilometers. The 100 kilometers cost 8.86 euros.
• Gasoline car (140 liters at 1.562 euros/liter): 218.68 euros to travel 2,000 kilometers. The 100 kilometers cost 10.94 euros.

Conclusions. The conclusion with this hypothetical trip is clear, the electric car is cheaper the more time it spends charging at low power. This results in a very low expense during the day to day if you can recharge at home, but even if we go on a trip and take advantage of recharging at the destination at a relatively low price, the electric car is a winner.

Furthermore, on this same trip, the electric car driver has a margin of more than 50 euros before equaling the cost of making the trip in a diesel car and almost 100 euros advantage over a gasoline car. This means that even always recharging at 0.60 euros/kWh away from home (an extra cost of 0.40 euros/kWh compared to what was calculated), the electric car would still be cheaper than a gasoline car. Compared to diesel, in this case, it would cost about 40 euros.

Photo | Xataka

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