Plug vs pump – an electric car cost comparison

We’ll come right out and say it – at this stage, electric cars are more expensive to buy than petrol ones. You’ll make the savings in the long term, rather than right off the bat. We’ll come right out and say it – at this stage, electric cars are more expensive to buy than petrol ones. You’ll make the savings in the long term, rather than right off the bat. 

However, the upfront cost is definitely decreasing. And don’t forget about secondhand options, too. Here we’ve laid out some popular electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in New Zealand, and a typical  cost to buy them new and secondhand. With many manufacturers committing to going electric, we’ll start to see more options at different price points. 

Nissan Leaf

BYD ATTO 3

BYD DOLPHIN

Hyundai Ioniq Series II

Hyundai Kona Electric

Hyundai IONIQ 5

Hyundai IONIQ 6

Volkswagen ID.5

Volkswagen Golf GTE Plug-In Hybrid

BMW iX3 electric

Tesla Model 3

Tesla Model Y

MG4

Mitsubishi I-Miev

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV

Costs as at January 2024. New costs direct from the manufacturer. Second-hand costs using TradeMe Classifieds.

Charging an EV costs the equivalent of around, $0.40/litre of petrol which is where some pretty epic savings come in.

The Ministry of Transport reckons the average car in New Zealand travels around 11,500 kilometres per year. If that’s you, you’re looking at about $300* in annual charging costs on our EV Plan. It’s designed especially for EV drivers – essentially, you get cheaper rates for charging overnight. It’s our way of saying thanks for choosing to drive electric and helping take better care of the environment.

Find out more about our EV Plan

*Based on a 2015 Nissan Leaf.

There’s no getting around the fact that petrol and diesel prices have shot up in the last few years. Keeping an ICE (internal combustion engine) car on the road now is a noticeable chunk of the household budget and can even start to influence travel habits.

An EV’s charging costs by comparison are tiny, making them a desirable option for those wanting the weekly expenses to stay under control. Just as solar’s value is a matter of working out the long term cost vs. the upfront cost, an electric car’s purchase price should be weighed up against the savings you’ll make in the long run.

Road User Charges -RUC’s

From the 1st April 2024, people with EV’s & PHEV’s are required to pay Road User Charges.

• For an EV this is $76 per 1,000km and for a PHEV it is $53 per 1,000km
• The EV rate of $76 is equivalent to the current Diesel RUC’s in place at the moment.

What does the future look like for the cost of EVs?

The automotive industry is at an interesting stage currently. There’s still plenty of challenges to navigate before EVs become the dominant (or only) type of vehicle on the road:

• Charging infrastructure
• Range concerns
• Entry point cost

However, there’s plenty of indicators to suggest the future will be more electric than ICE. This includes signs from car manufacturers' product roadmaps, a need to reduce emissions and help our environment, plus technologies that are based around an electric motor. As EVs become the norm rather than a novelty, there should be more choice and scale, helping to bring costs down for consumers.

The automotive industry is at an interesting stage currently. There’s still plenty of challenges to navigate before EVs become the dominant (or only) type of vehicle on the road:

Charging infrastructure Range concerns Entry point cost.

However, there’s plenty of indicators to suggest the future will be more electric than ICE. This includes signs from car manufacturers' product roadmaps, a need to reduce emissions and help our environment, plus technologies that are based around an electric motor. As EVs become the norm rather than a novelty, there should be more choice and scale, helping to bring costs down for consumers.

That’s a decision only you can make based on your own driving habits and budget. Many car buyers are being faced with the choice of ‘going electric’ now or buying an ICE car and waiting for the EV evolution to progress a bit more. You should also consider how long you’d like to keep a vehicle; for those who switch regularly, any worries around ending up with an obsolete vehicle are less than those who like to run their car into the ground.

The truth is, a transition away from ICE vehicles will certainly not happen overnight. So while being ‘future-proofed’ might be one of your criteria, it might not have to be the deciding factor if you have a compelling deal on a regular petrol or diesel vehicle.

At Meridian we love EVs and the cost savings they bring to users. Read more about our EV Plan.

Maintaining an electric vehicle is a whole lot easier when you don’t have a combustion engine to deal with. While a standard petrol vehicle has roughly 2,000 moving parts to keep oiled and serviced, a fully -electric vehicle has about 20. It doesn’t need oil and rarely needs servicing, so the main thing to consider is the potential cost of replacing your battery. It always pays to check what guarantees the manufacturer is offering on their batteries -– you might find you’re covered for up to 10 years.

While you’re paying more upfront for an electric vehicle, chances are you’ll be saving money from that point onwards. No petrol costs, currently no Road User Charges (until March 2024) and minimal maintenance costs all help make driving electric way easier on the wallet.

Including 50% off our standard day rates from 9pm to 7am, and price certainty for two years.^