5 Ways EVs Are Less Efficient Than Gas Cars

One of the big selling points of EVs is their claimed lower running and ownership costs compared to gas-powered vehicles. However, there are several areas where they aren’t as efficient to run and own, to the point that depending on usage and vehicle class, a gas car may still be a better bet for some consumers.

We focused here specifically on areas where gas-powered vehicles were more efficient than their electrically-powered counterparts.

5 Tire Wear

Electric vehicles are heavy. They can weigh up to 1,000 pounds more than an equivalent gas car. The BMW 430i Gran Coupe has a base curb weight of 3,792 lbs, while the BMW i4 eDrive40 weighs in at 4,713 lbs.

That amounts to 921 pounds of extra weight that needs to be hauled around at all times. The bulk of this is due to the battery pack, and, unlike a gas tank, the battery weighs the same whether the vehicle is fully charged or empty.

The downside to the extra mass is accelerated tire wear, and over time, the suspension components and dampers will also need more frequent replacement than in the gas equivalent.

4 Charging Vs. Refueling Times

Broadly speaking, EVs can be cheaper to refuel/recharge than a gas-powered vehicle. The savings vary depending on the charger location and charging speed. Slower chargers tend to have a lower cost per kilowatt, but you must sit patiently by the roadside for hours to save those few dollars.

Fast chargers can dramatically reduce the time you spend twiddling your thumbs, and the quoted maximum charging speeds drop off quite substantially, above 80% and below 20%. In the case of the i4, it takes just over 30 minutes to charge from 10% to 80%, if you can find a 210kW charger. But that last 20% can take a lot longer. Using fast chargers regularly will also degrade the battery sooner. And that claimed maximum range is greatly affected by temperature variations.

Filling a gas tank from empty on an average family car takes approximately 3 minutes. The pumping speed in the US is limited to around 10 gallons per minute, which equates to 300 miles in the BMW 430i Gran Coupe. For longer road trips and ease of use, a gas car is still king.

It’s worth noting that the ultimate solution is a home charger, where you simply use the 15% to 20% battery charge required for the daily grind, plug the car in, and wake up in the morning with a full car. The downside is that you have to own a house, as home charging is simply not viable if you live in an apartment.

3 Purchase Price

Electric cars may have fewer moving parts, which would make you think that they should be cheaper to manufacture. However, the complex battery pack more than makes up for this when it comes to the purchase price.

Take a look at the table below to see the difference in pricing before taxes between the 430i Gran Coupe and the i4 eDrive40, which are the entry-level models of their respective ranges.

That $8,700 price difference equates to a 17.6% price hike. Yes, the 335 hp i4 may be a little quicker, but the much lighter 255 hp 430i is no slouch and is a better proposition if you don’t have a fast home charger or access to a convenient charging point on your commute.

But what about the lower running costs, you say? According to the EPA, if you drive an average of 15,000 miles per year, the i4 eDrive40 will save you $1,302 in fuel bills. You will need to drive for six and a half years before recouping the additional purchase price. If your annual average is closer to 10,000 miles, then you won’t reach parity for a decade.

The lower EV servicing costs may help, but at those mileages, your tires will need replacing more frequently than in a gas car, which can easily eradicate any savings.

2 Resale Value

EVs may be commonplace on our roads, but they have only really been around as a mass consumer offering since the early 2010s. Rapid advances in EV technology and the shifting sands of EV incentives often play havoc with resale value, which plays a big role in the decision-making for thousands of buyers.

Whereas most gas cars have well-established resale values, EVs tend to be a less secure bet on the second-hand market. Fleet buyers and rental companies that offload their EV models onto the used car market can create an oversupply of models that may not be viewed as savvy used buys. Most major manufacturers offer an 8-year/ 100,000-mile warranty on the high-voltage battery system, but what happens to older EVs? Battery replacement costs can be prohibitive, further dampening resale prices.

1 Ability To Replace Parts

EV production methods are still in their infancy. Battery and electric motor technology is advancing rapidly, forcing manufacturers to constantly modify and enhance their offerings to stay competitive. This results in frequent product updates and a vast catalog of components that quickly become redundant or outdated. The end result for the consumer is that certain parts may be difficult or impossible to source on older EVs.

This can have a detrimental impact on running costs and will certainly be felt in the years to come as the global EV fleet ages and the demand for parts increases. Most gas-powered vehicles share components across platforms, and years of development and product optimization have helped lower parts costs. This is the path many EVs are also starting to take, but the transition phase will certainly hit existing EV owners in their wallets.

Sources:
BMW, fueleconomy.gov