EV vs Petrol Calculator Europe: The Formula, a Worked Example and Tables

The question behind ev vs petrol calculator europe is really two smaller questions: what does each car use per mile, and what does that energy cost where you buy it. Answer those two and the comparison is arithmetic. This page answers them in order, states the assumptions openly, and then shows the result at several annual mileages so you can see how the answer scales. Where the page leaves something out — purchase price, depreciation, insurance, servicing and tax — it says so by name.

The short answer is that the comparison comes down to cost per kilometre: the petrol car burns litres, so its cost per kilometre is the fuel price per litre multiplied by its litres per 100 km and divided by 100, while the EV uses kilowatt-hours, so its cost per kilometre is the electricity price per kWh divided by its kilometres per kWh. With the example assumptions on this page — petrol at €1.75 per litre, 7.5 litres per 100 km, electricity at 32 cents per kWh and 6.5 km per kWh — the petrol car costs about €0.13 per kilometre and the EV about €0.05 per kilometre. Those are example figures, not prices you should quote, and the rest of this page shows how they were reached and what would change them.

Assumptions used on this page for ev vs petrol calculator europe

Every figure in the tables below comes from this assumptions table. Each one is an assumption or an example, not a measured fact about any particular car or a current price. Substitute your own numbers and the method still works. That is the point this page works through for ev vs petrol calculator europe.

Input Value used Status
Petrol price €1.75 per litre Example price
Petrol consumption 7.5 litres per 100 km Assumption
Electricity price 32 cents per kWh Example price
EV efficiency 6.5 km per kWh Assumption
Annual distance 12,000 km Example

Because this page is about europe, the units above match how drivers there usually measure fuel and electricity. The method itself does not change with location — only the units and the example prices do — so a driver anywhere else can use the same steps with local figures. Do not treat the example prices as current prices for Europe: they are placeholders chosen to make the arithmetic easy to follow, and real prices move constantly.

How the EV versus petrol comparison works for ev vs petrol calculator europe

For ev vs petrol calculator europe, the point is this: Hold the distance constant and price the energy each car actually uses. For the petrol car, cost per kilometre equals the price per litre multiplied by litres per 100 km, divided by 100. For the EV, cost per kilometre equals the price per kWh divided by kilometres per kWh. Multiply each cost per kilometre by the annual distance and you have the annual fuel and charging bill for each car; subtract one from the other and you have the saving, or the extra cost, under those assumptions. The method is deliberately simple, because a simple method with honest inputs beats a complicated model built on guessed ones. The two numbers that matter most are the electricity price and the petrol car's consumption: a driver who charges at home on a cheap overnight rate will see a very different answer from a driver who relies on public rapid chargers, and a thirsty petrol car widens the gap while an efficient one narrows it.

ev vs petrol calculator europe: Worked example: the same distance, two energy bills

Take a driver covering 12,000 km a year. The petrol car uses 7.5 litres per 100 km and petrol costs €1.75 per litre as an example price, so its cost per kilometre is €1.75 × 7.5 ÷ 100 = €0.13, and 12,000 km cost €1,575.00 a year. The EV does 6.5 km per kWh and electricity costs 32 cents per kWh as an example price, so its cost per kilometre is 32 ÷ 100 ÷ 6.5 = €0.05, and 12,000 km cost €590.77 a year. The difference on fuel and charging alone is €984.23 a year in the EV’s favour under these assumptions. Now change one input and watch the answer move: if the EV is charged mostly at a public rapid charger at, say, double the home electricity price used here, its annual charging cost doubles and most of the saving disappears. If the petrol car is driven mainly in town at higher consumption, the petrol bill rises and the saving grows. That sensitivity is the real lesson — the answer is only as solid as the assumptions, so write yours down before you believe the result.

ev vs petrol calculator europe: Cost at different annual distances

The table uses the worked-example assumptions above — petrol at €1.75 per litre (example), 7.5 litres per 100 km, electricity at 32 cents per kWh (example), 6.5 km per kWh. The gap grows with distance, which is why high-mileage drivers see the biggest fuel-cost difference and low-mileage drivers see the smallest.

Annual km Petrol cost per year EV charging cost per year Difference
6,000 €787.50 €295.38 €492.12
10,000 €1,312.50 €492.31 €820.19
12,000 €1,575.00 €590.77 €984.23
15,000 €1,968.75 €738.46 €1,230.29
20,000 €2,625.00 €984.62 €1,640.38

Cost per mile and per 100 miles for ev vs petrol calculator europe

At the example assumptions, the petrol car costs €0.13 per kilometre (€13.12 per 100 km) and the EV costs €0.05 per kilometre (€4.92 per 100 km). Per 100 km is often the easier figure to compare with a fuel receipt or a charging bill, because both are usually priced in round numbers per 100 km of driving. If you know your own consumption and your own prices, the same two divisions give your own figures: petrol price per litre times litres per 100 km divided by 100, and electricity price per kWh divided by kilometres per kWh.

ev vs petrol calculator europe: What the comparison leaves out — and why it matters

On this page, ev vs petrol calculator europe is the case in point: Before treating any EV saving as a promise, check what was excluded. This page's maths covers fuel and charging only. It does not include the price difference between the cars, depreciation, insurance, servicing, tyres, or tax — all of which differ between an EV and a petrol car and all of which change the real answer. It also assumes a single electricity price, while real charging mixes cheap home charging with expensive public rapid charging, and the mix matters more than the headline rate. A driver who charges at home overnight will beat the figures here; a driver who relies on rapid chargers may not. Work out your own mix, price it honestly, and only then compare the totals.

Common mistakes for ev vs petrol calculator europe

  • Forgetting charging losses is another: slightly more electricity is drawn from the plug than the battery stores, so dividing the battery size by the miles driven understates the real cost per mile by a few percent. That is the point this page works through for ev vs petrol calculator europe.
  • Forgetting that winter changes EV efficiency is easy to miss. Cold weather reduces an EV's miles per kWh noticeably, so a saving calculated on summer figures will overstate the winter result. That is the point this page works through for ev vs petrol calculator europe.
  • Taking ev vs petrol calculator europe as the case in point: Comparing a car's best-case efficiency with another's everyday figure is another trap. Brochure efficiency is measured in controlled conditions; your real miles per kWh or MPG will be lower, and the comparison only works when both cars are measured the same way.
  • For ev vs petrol calculator europe, the point is this: Treating the example prices on this page as current prices is the last mistake. Fuel and electricity prices move constantly, so always substitute the prices you actually pay before trusting any saving.

Related calculations for ev vs petrol calculator europe

Taking ev vs petrol calculator europe as the case in point: For the next step, these pages apply the same method to a closely related question — or hand the arithmetic to the calculator.

Putting your figure to work for ev vs petrol calculator europe

Taking ev vs petrol calculator europe as the case in point: The method earns its keep when you run it on your own numbers. Measure your real cost per mile for each car — your prices, your efficiency, your charging mix — and you can price a journey before you leave and compare two cars on equal terms instead of brochure claims. Keep a small log of date, miles, energy and price, and look at it monthly: a winter efficiency dip, a change in your charging mix and a slow cost creep all show up fast, and each one is something you can act on.

Frequently asked questions

Is an EV always cheaper to run than a petrol car?

Taking ev vs petrol calculator europe as the case in point: Not always. On fuel and charging alone, an EV is usually cheaper per mile when it charges mostly at home at an example electricity price, but the answer flips if it relies on expensive public rapid charging or if the petrol car is very efficient. Purchase price, depreciation, insurance and servicing are not in the fuel-cost maths, so a full comparison has to include them before calling either car cheaper overall.

Does charging at home really make that much difference?

For ev vs petrol calculator europe, the point is this: Yes, usually more than any other single factor. Home charging is typically far cheaper per kWh than public rapid charging, so a driver who charges at home overnight will see a much bigger saving than one who relies on rapid chargers. Work out your own mix of home and public charging and price each part separately for an honest figure.

How many kWh does it take to charge an EV?

On this page, ev vs petrol calculator europe is the case in point: It depends on the battery size and how empty it is. A charge from near-empty to full takes roughly the battery's capacity in kWh, plus a few percent for charging losses. Divide the kWh drawn by the miles driven afterwards and you have the car's real miles per kWh for that period.

Does an EV cost more to insure?

On this page, ev vs petrol calculator europe is the case in point: Insurance is not part of the fuel-and-charging maths on this page, and it can differ between an EV and a petrol car for reasons that have nothing to do with energy: repair costs, parts availability and the car's value all play a part. Get a quote for both cars before comparing total costs.

What is excluded from the EV versus petrol comparison?

Purchase price, depreciation, insurance, servicing, tyre wear and tax. This page compares fuel and charging costs only, and says so, because a break-even figure that hides those costs is not a like-for-like comparison. Add them with stated assumptions if you want a total-cost answer. That is the point this page works through for ev vs petrol calculator europe.