Calculating running costs accurately requires the buyer to do some homework, as including all factors means allowing for mileage travelled, likely fuel/energy consumption, fuel costs, recharging costs at home and away from home, servicing, insurance, tax and depreciation, and the sheer number of variable means that the answer will not be the same for everyone.

Excluding depreciation, and taking an annual mileage of 10,000, we would expect an electric car to be cheaper to run than the equivalent petrol or diesel car, assuming you can regularly charge at home. This is because the cost of the energy is cheaper with an electric car, tax will likely be cheaper and servicing costs should also be lower. Adding depreciation makes it more complicated because it depends on the exact vehicle. Some electric vehicles will depreciate more quickly than their petrol counterparts but others will not, so to get an accurate answer it is necessary to gather all the information for your specific circumstances.