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An electric-vehicle owner who thinks he's saving money relative to owning a gasoline-powered car because of lower refueling and maintenance costs will be in for a rude awakening when he tries to sell the vehicle.


That's according to a report by the BBC, which said that, at least in the U.K., an EV is about 13 percent more expensive to operate than a similar gas-powered car during the first three years of ownership.


Owners of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric-car (pictured), which debuts in the U.K. early next year, will pay about 10,600 British pounds ($16,391) operating a vehicle that's driven a combined 36,000 miles over the first three years, compared to 9,339 British pounds ($11,834) for owners of a gas-powered Fiat 500 Lounge. And this factors in the 5,000-pound ($6,335) tax credit British EV owners will be getting, according to the BBC.


Additionally, it's worth pointing out that the BBC received such numbers not from a competing car company with no EV plans, but from Mitsubishi itself.


Granted, the higher cost is directly attributed to depreciation of the i-MiEV, whose 28,990-pound ($36,731) sticker price is almost three times that of the Fiat. With both cars losing about half their respective values over the first three years, the i-MiEV's depreciation costs more than offset the 2,848 British pounds ($3,609) in refueling costs the Mitsubishi owners will save over the three years.
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Tags: Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, BBC, Cost, Electric Vehicle, EV, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Nissan Leaf, Operating Cost, Plug-in

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Operating Costs of Electric Vehicles Are Higher Than Those of Gas Cars - BBC was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.