A man who has owned four electric cars over the past decade has revealed the incredible difference to petrol cars when it comes to saving money.
With conflict in Iran causing oil prices to surge, many motorists have been tempted to make the switch to electric vehicles and offload their petrol or diesel cars.
One of the biggest questions surrounding electric cars is whether people actually save or lose money by abandoning petrol-powered cars. Many remain concerned about charging costs and the initial purchase price of the vehicles.
However, climate scientist Bill McGuire, who has owned various versions of the Nissan Leaf over the years, has championed the benefits of electric cars with some remarkable savings figures.
Writing in the i newspaper, he detailed how, as well as experiencing virtually no technical problems with his cherished Leaf, the financial savings had been extraordinary.
Like many electric car owners, Bill has had a home charger fitted at his property and also benefits from solar panels. Overall, when it comes to cost per mile, he noted that while a petrol car will set you back around 12p to 18p, an electric vehicle can sometimes cost as little as 2p, reports the Express.
He explained: "We almost always charge the car at home, paying 12p per unit (kWh) on a night-time tariff, or for nothing when it is sunny and our solar panels are producing full blast.
"But you can pay as little as 7p, depending on your supplier and tariff. Off-peak home charging can mean that you are paying as little as 2p a mile for getting around." All told, Bill estimates he has made substantial savings over his decade behind the wheel of electric vehicles.
Bill said: "This translates, on the basis of our mileage over the 12 years we have been driving EVs, to a saving of at least £10,000."
But that's not the only potential advantage of going electric, with Bill pointing out that one day many electric cars could enable drivers to sell surplus electricity back to the grid through Vehicle To Grid (V2G) technology.
It follows comments from respected motoring journalist Ginny Buckley, who described switching to EVs as the "biggest saving".
Writing in the Express, she explained: "If you can charge at home and access an off-peak tariff, an EV can cost just a few pence per mile to run, compared with roughly 12 to 18 pence per mile for a petrol car - around a third of the cost, and sometimes even less.
"EVs have another useful trick, they use 'regenerative braking', so when you lift off the accelerator the car slows down putting energy back into the battery - effectively giving you a few "free miles" instead of wasting that energy as heat in the brakes."
