If you ask EV aficionados, they’ll tell you that electric vehicles are cheaper to fuel and keep, which would automatically imply they’re cheaper to own and operate. Skeptics might counter with premium pricing of many EVs, something that’s quite quantifiable when a brand sells both a gas-powdered and full version of the very same vehicle.
So, the question is, are EVs really less expensive in the long run? Kind of. As they say, it’s quite complicated. If you want to investigate whether an electric vehicle truly is cheaper than its gas counterpart to own and use as a means of daily transportation, we decided between two models in the United States market that are quite available for both powertrains.
First, there’s the Hyundai Kona and Kona Electric, and then there’s the Ford F-150 and F-150 Lightning. We also compared as much about their running costs as we could dig out from credible sources.
Three-year cost analysis
We ultimately decided on an examination of the first three years of ownership cost. We also decided to stick with the numbers we could pin down. And to establish the clearest comparison possible, we are not including financing costs or insurance premiums.
How you decide to finance your vehicle, whether you take a loan or decide to lease, could truly have a significant impact on your total costs. Moreover, insurance costs are variable, too, depending on your state, driving record, but also the coverage you choose.
Initial purchase price
The discussion starts with the purchase price. For instance, Hyundais require the most basic trim, and for the F-150s we will need the XLT trim, which is definitely a step above the most basic work truck trim in each model.
We also decided to equip the Lightning with the Standard-Range battery. Any applicable Federal tax credits for the two EVs are also figured in later. The cars’ purchase prices, which also include destination charges are the following:
- Hyundai Kona – $22,595
- Hyundai Kona Electric – $35,295
- Ford F-150 – $40,960
- Ford F-150 Lightning – 454,769
Miles driven
For annual miles driven, we focused on 15,000, which is the typical average mileage stat for United States drivers for many years now. Both the electric versions included have these EPA-estimated ranges close to the industry median, which is 258 miles for the Kona Electric and 230 for the F-150 Lightning. This should get owners to the desired numbers in no time. The result was a three-year mileage count of 45,000 miles.
Maintenance costs
We used AAA’s 2022 Your Driving Costs analysis to calculate maintenance cost. It also establishes how much you pay per mile in terms of maintenance to drive a vehicle. The costs are placed into market segment silos, whether it’s sedan, SUV, Pickup, EV, or something else, for service items like tires, brakes, oil changes, but also repairs over a five-year period.
That’s way longer than a three-year timeline, so in this particular case, the pre-mile figures could be inflated beyond what you would experience with such cars in three years. Moreover, these maintenance costs are way higher than we could experience in our long-term 40,000-mile test.
However, AAA’s data also offers a solid basis for comparison, and all the subject cars are treated fairly. As you might expect, without oil changes or any other engine maintenance, the EVs are much cheaper to keep. Maintenance costs per mile and over 45,000 miles are:
- Hyundai Kona – $0,0984 per mile/ $4,428
- Hyundai Kona Electric – $0,0794 per mile/ $3,573
- Ford F-150 – $0.0933 per mile/ $4,199
- Ford F-15o Lightning – $0.0794 per mile/ $3,573
Energy usage
In order to properly calculate the energy usage of both types of cars, you need to use the EPA’s gallons and kilowatt-hours used per 100 miles. For both of these units, the lower the number, the more efficient the vehicle. As you can see below, both the Hyundais are way more efficient than the F-150s, which is somehow to be expected for subcompact SUVs versus full-size trucks.
- Hyundai Kona: 3.1 gal/100 mi
- Hyundai Kona Electric: 27 kWh/ 100 mi
- Ford-F 150: 5.0 gal/ 100 mi
- Ford F-150 Lightning: 48 kWh/ 100 mi
Gasoline costs
For gasoline costs, it’s worth considering the national average price of gas in September 2022: $3.70 per gallon for regular, which both the Kona and the F-150 take. As you probably know, gas prices are very volatile these days, especially considering inflation, international conflicts, and other factors both raising the price and making future prices very hard to foresee.
However, the price of gas has trended downwards recently and could continue in that direction, even if it’s quite unlikely to spot pre-pandemic prices anytime soon. However, for the sake of math, we should assume it stays at October’s price for the near future. Here is the cost to drive the gasoline-powered Kona and F-150 for 45,000 miles.
Hyundai Kona: $5162
Ford F-150: $8325
Charging costs
Charging costs are quite difficult to determine. First off, plenty of charging stations will charge you by the minute instead of kilowatt-hour. This particular way of charging could prove to be quite frustrating for EV owners.
Luckily, there are a couple of changes coming, and Electrify America, which is one of the largest charging station networks, will charge $0.43/ kWh for DC fast charging and Level 2 charging in our home-base state of Michigan.
Some of the units of Electrify America could also charge at a rate of up to 350 kW, even if most EVs can’t even accept charging that fast. However, paying per kWh evens the overall playing field cost-wise between electric cars that charge slower and faster.
To properly establish at-home charging costs, we need to look at the average rate of $0.1546/kWh in the U.S. for July 2022, which is the most recent rate available. Electric utility rates in the United States vary greatly.
In 2020, Louisiana paid a small amount of $0.0751 per kWh, and Hawaii’s electric rates were a wallet-busting $0.2755 per kWh. Considering this, the price of charging at home is mainly dictated by where you live.
Another important piece of the EV charging puzzle is the difference between at-home and on-the-go charging. According to a June 2021 study on EV consumer behavior conducted by the Fuels Institute, 70-80% of charging takes place at home or at a workplace parking lot. We went with an 80/20% split between home and public charging for our own calculations. These numbers are thrown into a bucket to properly establish the amount it might take to keep the two EVs charged up in order to cover 45,000 miles.
- Hyundai Kona Electric: $2548
- Ford F-150 Lightning: $4529
Depreciation
The ultimate piece of data affecting the cost of ownership of any kind of vehicle is quite a big one, and we’re talking here about depreciation. It’s quite a knotty subject, as predicting depreciation is quite an educated guess depending on past experience, customer demand, vehicle availability, brand reputation, and for as far as we can tell, the phases of the moon. A rapid look at the numbers and it’s quite clear that EVs depreciate faster than their gas counterparts.
According to Cari Crane, Director of Insights at ALG (which was known as Auto Lease Guide), the high cost of electric vehicles contributes to their steeper depreciation. In terms of money, we see a premium on top of a compatible ICE, short for Internal Combustion Engine. It’s a price point that’s truly causing that steeper depreciation. We also landed on the following numbers for three years worth of depreciation by using the source of AAA’s depreciation metrics, Vincentric:
- Hyundai Kona – $9,795
- Hyundai Kona Electric – $15,305
- Ford F-150 – $13,981
- Ford F-150 Lightning – $15,738
If you found this article insightful, we also recommend checking: 10 Things Your Mechanic Wishes You’d Stop Doing
