Electric and hybrid vehicles: Unit economics
Dearer to buy, cheaper to run: where the maths tips
What this tab covers What it costs to move a unit of energy this way: capital and operating costs, tariffs, utilisation and how it compares with the alternatives.Electric cars cost more to buy in most markets but less to run. Battery packs for electric cars averaged USD 99 per kWh in 2025, and in China most battery cars now cost less than the average petrol car.
Key costs
| Measure | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Battery pack price, electric cars | 99 USD/kWh (2025)5 | all uses averaged USD 108/kWh; China USD 84/kWh; LFP packs USD 81/kWh, NMC packs USD 128/kWh |
| Ownership cost, US electric car | 71.21 US cents per mile (2025)13 | against 55.87 for a small petrol sedan and 63.94 for a hybrid; 15,000 miles a year over five years; electricity 16.7 US cents/kWh |
| Price against petrol cars, China | nearly 70% share of battery cars cheaper than equivalent combustion cars (2025)4 | before incentives; up from about 50% in 2021 |
| Price premium, Europe | about 20% average battery car premium over combustion equivalent (2025)4 | over 30% of battery cars sold below their combustion equivalent average |
| Electric truck purchase price | 2 to 3 times multiple of diesel truck price (2025)3 | Europe expected to reach cost-of-ownership parity with diesel by 2030 |
| Electric scooter energy use | 72-91% less energy than a 250cc petrol scooter (Yamaha X-Max 250) across test cycles14 | Cenex UK study, 2019; 77-89% less for simulated standard models |
Where the money goes
| Item | Share or amount |
|---|---|
| Battery pack for a 60 kWh car | about USD 5,940 at USD 99/kWh (calculated)5 |
| Depreciation (average US new car, all types) | USD 4,334 a year, the largest single item (2025)13 |
| Energy cost at 16.7 US cents/kWh and an assumed 0.18 kWh/km from the socket | about USD 0.03 per km (calculated), against about USD 0.08 per km of fuel for the average US car (calculated from 13 US cents per mile)13 |
Worked example: a car driven 15,000 miles (24,140 km) a year at an assumed 0.18 kWh/km from the socket (a mixed-driving figure, below the 0.21 kWh/km road-load estimate at a steady 108 km/h because of lower speeds and regeneration) uses about 4,350 kWh (calculated), costing about USD 726 at 16.7 US cents/kWh (calculated). AAA puts the average new US car's fuel at 13 US cents per mile, about USD 1,950 a year (calculated). The saving is real but smaller than depreciation, which is why purchase price still decides most choices.
Sources
- Global EV Outlook 2026: Executive summary IEA, 2026
- Global EV Outlook 2026: Trends in electric cars IEA, 2026
- Lithium-ion battery pack prices fall to USD 108 per kilowatt-hour despite rising metal prices BloombergNEF, 2025
- Your Driving Costs 2025 fact sheet AAA, 2025
- Real-World Scooter Performance Study Cenex, 2019