Very few – if any – talk about all the costs of electric cars. Perhaps because many of them only affect indirectly. It just doesn't make the bill any smaller.
Electric cars are here to stay. But that doesn't always justify many of the costs associated with them.
Especially not when you consider that the cars are fundamentally much simpler than their counterparts with internal combustion engines.
So here we have collected 10 of the hidden costs that you as an electric car owner should be aware of. Even if you are just considering getting one.
Because let's be honest – the way the Danish tax system is set up, it's much more advantageous to buy an electric car. At least if you don't want to be ripped off by the state in registration tax.
That said, there is much evidence that the artificial help that electric cars receive from the state is helping sales.
A new report from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association ACEA shows that electric cars are lagging far behind when it comes to the total car fleet.
For example, pure electric cars only make up 1.8 percent of all cars in Europe. And even if we add hybrid cars to that calculation, we can't get above 4 percent. Read more about it here .
The 10 hidden costs of electric cars
Very expensive batteries
While a brand like Volkswagen expects the prices of raw materials for battery production to plummet in the coming years, this is not necessarily something that drivers will notice.
Drivers can only relate to the cars that are on the market. And if those batteries break, it is extremely expensive. The battery pack for a Tesla Model S, for example, costs over 100,000 Danish kroner.
It's not much better when we talk about electric motors. Audi, for example, wants 110,000 kroner for a new motor for an e-tron. AV…
Long charging times and very expensive electricity
Those who say they enjoy charging breaks in an electric car are lying. It simply takes too long.
And when you stick to anything other than a home charger, which not everyone else has access to, it's simply too expensive. Way too expensive. According to the Norwegians, it now costs as much to fast charge as it does to fill an internal combustion engine with diesel.
And while we're on the subject of home charging. It's also far, far too expensive. At least when it comes to the charging box itself. If you want to own one yourself, it runs into several thousand kroner.
Some companies even charge the same amount to set up the shit, so you can rent the box itself – not the power, just the box – on a monthly basis. It makes no sense.
The absurd loss of value of electric cars
All new cars lose value. And that's how it is. But electric cars are actually falling.
It is especially consumers' fear about the condition of the batteries in used electric cars that is driving down prices. A Jaguar i-Pace, for example, is worth 70 percent less in just 5 years. And that brand will only build electric cars from 2026.
Ridiculous range in cold weather
Electric cars are in many ways a ridiculous travel companion. Not because of the cars in general, but because of the batteries.
They can never live up to what car brands promise. It is completely unrealistic to measure the range of electric cars according to the WLTP standard created for petrol and diesel cars.
But even at one degree below zero, the German ADAC, which corresponds to the Danish FDM, has proven that the range of electric cars simply disappears into a deep, black hole. That's not cool if you have to drive far. Charging an electric car is never cool – and if you enjoy those breaks, you're honestly driving a car that's too bad.
Much more expensive insurance
The fact that it is more expensive to insure an electric car is partly the fault of the electric car itself. But it is just as much the fault of the car brands. And of course the fault of the drivers.
Electric cars are often built to be complex to repair. Car brands charge absurd amounts of money for spare parts, and drivers drive like brain dead people behind the wheel.
Many electric car owners believe they are immortal behind the wheel and can therefore just stomp the accelerator. That is why they are also surprised when something goes wrong in a Tesla Model Y with rear-wheel drive and 300 horsepower. Because 'we are not used to that'. Chorus properly!
Fewer workshops know what they are doing
Car manufacturers are actually required – at least according to EU legislation – to sell diagnostic tools to both their own and independent workshops.
But the car manufacturers don't feel comfortable with that. So they hide and say that unfortunately they don't have that kind of thing in stock. Or at best, it's on backorder.
And this means that in many cases drivers are forced to choose the more expensive brand workshops. The independent mechanics may be able to fix an electric car, but they often know very little about how, because the car manufacturers will not give them the tools that tell them how and in what manner.
Increased wear
Electric cars are often both heavier and faster than the most popular petrol and diesel cars. And that takes a toll. Especially on the tyres.
A calculation from the Michelin-owned chain Euromaster shows that tires for electric cars – which you can't avoid – are often 100 percent more expensive than tires for gasoline and diesel cars. AV.
Charging stations are hell
Despite EU regulations that were supposed to limit things like roaming prices at charging stations, it's still hell.
Because even though there will be more charging stations, they require different solutions, more apps and payment cards. It's unnecessarily complicated, and you can never be sure that the charging stations will work.
The fact that there are still places in Denmark where there are long distances between charging stations is embarrassingly dissident. Even hydrogen stations cannot really get support. The EU has only been able to decide that there must be no more than 200 kilometers between hydrogen stations in the union. Come on…
Payment for features
This applies to all new cars. But in electric cars, it's a big deal with software features that have to be purchased or paid for extra.
For example, Tesla wants to charge you to listen to Spotify, which you already pay for. What the hell – yes, excuse the language – does that look like?
Depending on electricity prices
Unless you have a fixed-price agreement or can charge at night, when electricity is usually cheapest, you are bound to look at electricity prices to hunt for the cheapest possible 'tank full' for your electric car.
So you have to push your spending for the sake of something else, and that's a step backwards. Some would even say more.
