Will recharging an electric car soon cost more than refueling?

• Electricity prices will increase by 10% by August 1, 2023
• The new tariff for a full recharge for a Tesla Model Y will be on average €15.95.
• To travel the same distance, this corresponds to 55 euros on a Peugeot 2008, giving the economic victory to the electric.

The purchasing power of the French will not really appreciate this news. Indeed, it is already expected that electricity prices will increase from August 1st. Obviously, this will have a significant impact on electric vehicle users…

Another raise?

After delirious increases in electricity prices that have had a strong impact on our bakers, simple consumers like us take a lot for their ranks with bills that are also climbing little by little. Unfortunately, it is not ready to stop since, the protection of the tariff shield put in place by the government which allows us to suffer less from increases in the electricity rate, will be reduced this August 1st.

If we look at the price of electricity in Europe, France is among the countries least affected by the increases, unlike our situation vis-à-vis the fuel supplying thermal cars.

How much are we talking about?

Recalculated twice a year, the tariff shield should be phased out in 2024. In the meantime, the government has announced an increase of around 10% electricity tariffs within 15 days. Obviously, this will affect the charging rate for electric vehicles at home.

The charging rate on an EV

So let’s talk concretely, according to our colleagues fromClean Automotivethe average consumption of an electric vehicle is between 12 and 20 kilowatt hours to travel 100 kilometers. Current prices are 0.161 euro per kWh in off-peak hours, it is therefore necessary to count between 1.93 and 3.22 euros per 100 km depending on the capabilities of the vehicle.

©Tesla

Let’s take the example of the best-selling electric car in France today, the Tesla Model Y having 533 km of autonomy depending on the brand. With an average consumption of 17 kWh, it is currently necessary to count 14.50 euros to “refuel” the model Y with electricity during off-peak hours. To this we must add 10% of the increase that occurs this first August, which gives us a price for full electricity reaching €15.95.

The price for thermal cars

At the time of writing this article, fuel prices (fluctuating by region) are on average at 1.91 euro per liter for the SP98, and 1.72 euro for the diesel. If we take the example of a diesel Peugeot 2008 with a fuel consumption of 6 liters of diesel per 100this corresponds to 10.32 euros to cover this distance. Let’s take the case where we want to drive 533 kilometers like our Electric Model Y with this same 2008, it will cost us 55 euros!

Pikachu Victory

As much as driving long distances with an electric vehicle is not easy and often costs more because of the very high charges for charging stations on the motorways, the victory of EVs on a daily basis is indisputable. Even taking into account the increase in electricity tariffs (or the reduction in the protection of the tariff shield), driving electric (charging at home) is much more economical.