Worth doubling your budget to buy an EV over a petrol car

While the Nexon EV is an option, I am more inclined towards the MG ZS EV.

BHPian ChiragM recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am in the market for a small petrol hatchback and have shortlisted three between the Rs 8L - 10.5L range (2 with 1.0L turbo petrols and 1 with a 1.2L NA K-Series). So let's say my budget is Rs 10 lakh on-road. Considering the eye-watering price of petrol per litre, I am now wondering if I should double my budget way out of my comfort zone to get a Es 22 Lakh EV (MG ZS) (Yes, Nexon EV is also under consideration, but I prefer the MG ZS, has a longer range as well; yet to test drive both).

Points to consider:

• Very little maintenance charge.
• Negligible running cost. This will be offset by the high EMI.
• I need to pay a good sum more for wiring, etc to set up the charging point MG provides at home.
• For some highway runs, can use the petrol car at home (Ritz). Can also rent out cars at an additional cost.

My running:

• On average, 20 km a day (including Sat & Sun).
• Occasional highway drives. Might take it to my wife's native place (Dharwad) once in a while. The ZS won't do the run with 1 charge so maybe stop at Davangere to charge it (MG brochure says there is a fast-charging point there).
• Might also use it for joy rides at night / on weekends.

My requirement:

One of these is fun-to-drive. Others need not be considered for this post. I Will mention in the what car post at a later date. Looking to buy in early 2022.

Plus points:

• Can take it on late night drives/joy rides guilt-free.
• Can take it on long drives on the weekends to nowhere guilt-free.
• Can't do these without worrying about running costs with petrol.

How long will I keep the car:

• I like to keep cars for at least 10-15 years. Now, this is possible with a petrol hatchback. But not sure about EVs. Don't know how it will age and when the battery will go. MG gives an 8-year warranty on the battery so will keep it for at least 8 years.
• I may not get anything while selling it.

In the long run, even if petrol prices do not go up drastically like it is now, it is still going to go up in the next 10 years.

So considering all the pluses and minuses I have mentioned and the points to consider, is it worth stretching finances and paying a much higher EMI to buy the MG ZS EV? Will my long term ownership costs be less?

Here's what BHPian aargee had to say on the matter:

Here's simple maths in broad terms without taking consideration into every minute detail...

Price of petrol car = Rs 10 Lakh

Price of EV = Rs 22 Lakh

Difference = Rs 12 Lakh

Let's fix the price of petrol is Rs 200 from day 1, so for an additional 12L, you get 6000 litres of petrol. Let's say the FE of petrol car to be 18 Kmpl, so you get to drive 108,000 Km for break even. Insurance & tire changes, let's keep them aside as they're common for both EV & FF (fossil-fueled) cars.

From your driving pattern, let's take you to do 80% of city drive which is for 292 days X 20 Km = 5840 Km per year & 800 Km per trip from Bangalore to Dharwad once a quarter which is 3200 Km totalling to 9040 Km. Let's round this off to 10K Km a year.

Let's calculate the service of FF car with negligible servicing & electricity cost for EV for now; considering 10K Km for driving, you might need a service for once a year & should cost an average of Rs 6K per service.

Considering the above costs, it would take approximately 117200 per year; so for the 1200000, it will be approximately 10.2 years for the break-even!!

Even if you make the petrol price of Rs 300 from day 1, the break-even period is nearly 7 years.

I've provided the long term ownership costs in broader terms as much as possible; there're multiple variables in here like a flex-fuel vehicle could provide even longer break-even periods or a change of rule can change the cost of fuel or the cost of electricity could go up or govt could realize a tax revenue through a different channel leaving fossil fuels alone, and those factors haven't been taken into account for now.

Keep us posted on your decision, please.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say on the matter:

If you are looking for a small hatchback, there is no sense in spending twice or thrice as much for an EV. Granted, Nexon and ZS are overall far superior vehicles than the likes of Swift and Co. But from a purely financial point of view, it doesn’t make sense. The 10L extra you spend covers fuel costs for 75-80k km. Your running is less than 10000km annually, so that’s 8-9 years. You rather invest that money today and get much better returns over than same period. If fuel costs are pinching so much, it’s much wiser to invest in a CNG kit and reduce your running costs by 50 to 70% straight away.

Here's what BHPian SmartCat had to say on the matter:

Some simple math using MS Excel suggests that it is not worth paying 2x over petrol car for an EV. Remember all the math circus we used to do justify just Rs. 1.5 Lakh premium of diesel over petrol a decade ago. Here we are talking Rs. 10 Lakhs or more.

Buying an EV is justified only if:

• You want something different and want to stand out from all other cars on the road.
• You like its power/torque delivery characteristics
• You are environmentally conscious.

Here's what BHPian heydj had to say on the matter:

Don't buy an EV just for the sake of petrol prices. If things get really bad then in future get the CNG kit fitted.

Take the extra EMI that you will put in today to offset petrol cost and put in monthly SIP. Returns will offset the costs and more.

BTW you are not in NCR so why petrol? Why not diesel?

Focus on buying a reliable car with niggle free experience. These EV's are too unreliable right now.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.