Cars that are cheap at twice the price
Savings in maintenance as well as in administrative and running costs help to compensate for the high price of electric vehicles
Despite the progress made in electric cars, they are still more expensive than conventional vehicles. Yet experts insist that the extra cost of electric vehicles is compensated by lower running costs. The Catalan energy institute, ICAEN, estimates that if the average price of a conventional diesel car is around 17,000 euros (15,000 for a petrol car), for electric cars it is 20,500 euros (22,000 for hybrids and 25,000 for plug-in hybrids), and that is including the 8,500-euro discount under the authorities' different subsidy plans.
However, only the purchase price is more expensive, as fuel and maintenance costs are much less, especially in the long run. What's more, annual road tax is less for electric cars, at 38 euros compared with 113 for diesel and 75 euros for petrol. Also, running costs of electric vehicles are much cheaper than conventional alternatives.
A diesel car costs seven euros in fuel to cover 100 kilometres, while for petrol cars the cost is 8.70 euros. Meanwhile, hybrid cars cost 5.46 euros every 100km, with 2.39 euros for plug-in hybrids and only 1.89 euros for fully electric vehicles. Thus, if one of these cars was to do 25,000 kilometres in a year, the running costs would be 472 euros, compared with 1,750 for diesel cars and 2,175 euros for petrol cars.
The bill for annual maintenance (oil, filter, brakes, and so on) also comes down substantially for electric vehicles. The average annual cost for a conventional car is 400 euros, while for hybrids it is 250 euros and only 150 euros for fully electric cars, according to ICAEN. What's more, maintenance of electric vehicles is more simple and they require fewer repairs due to their greater reliability and fewer parts. Average savings depend on vehicle type and manufacturer, but electric cars are about 50% cheaper to maintain every year.
Today, the range of options is more complete for car owners than ever. Apart from diesel and petrol vehicles, there are hybrids (a mix of internal combustion engines with electric motors), plug-in hybrids, electric cars, electric cars with extended range, natural gas vehicles (NGVs) and liquefied petroleum gas fuelled cars (LPGs).
Incentives
Apart from savings in maintenance and running costs, there are other advantages to electric cars. Among the pros are free Generalitat motorway tolls (Mollet, Maresme, Les Fonts, the Vallvidrera tunnels and the Garraf tunnels) and use of the C-58 dedicated bus lane (Bus-VAO). Also, registration of electric vehicles is free, compared to the 1,500 to 2,000 euros for conventional vehicles. Meanwhile, annual road tax is up to 75% cheaper, depending on the authority, while conventional vehicle owners pay between 80 and 170 euros a year. Not to forget, free or cheap parking in special parking zones, while the Catalan capital has the LIVE Barcelona card –a public-private initiative to encourage the use of electric vehicles. There are also state subsidy plans when buying an electric vehicle, such as the PIVE 6 and Movele plans, as well as the PIMA Aire 4 plan for commercial vehicles and electric bicycles. Finally, in Catalonia, the government has subsidies for electric motorbikes.
Awareness
If financial incentives are not enough to convince people to make the switch to electric cars, knowing they are helping the environment is another good reason. The Barcelona area, and some of Catalonia's large urban areas, suffer from serious air quality problems. The Catalan capital infringes European air pollution norms with an excess of two contaminants: Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) and air-borne particulates of less than 10 micrometres in diameter (PM10). Both pollutants are caused in large measure by motor vehicles, while electric vehicles emit nothing. This is in fact a problem in most of Europe's urban areas, mainly due to the widespread use of diesel engines, and Catalonia is working with other European regions as part of an initiative (Xarxa Air) to influence policy making on setting joint limits for vehicle air pollution for the whole of Europe.