Buy your first EV now – poll

Buying an electric vehicle immediately can save most New Zealanders more than five times the interest on any loan needed to meet the extra cost of buying one.

This is the finding of Flip the Fleet, a citizen science collaboration of more than 330 EV owners who share data from their cars’ dashboards each month.

The median return on investment on a notional loan for the added cost of their EV in August was 526%.

Little wonder therefore that 76% of 213 EV owners polled in September by Flip the Fleet reckon people should buy an EV immediately.

Only 16% say it would be best to wait another year, and 8% advise people to wait two to five years to allow the price of EVs to come down, for a greater variety and longer range EVs to enter the market, and for better public charging infrastructure for long distance travel.

“The top 5% of our data contributors save about 16 times the interest needed to pay more up front when they buy their EV,” Flip the Fleet co-founder Dima Ivanov says.

“These winners are in a sweet spot because they regularly commute long distances to and from work each day, or drive the kids around to all those after school activities. On the other hand, about 8% of EV owners only just break even or lose money on their added investment in an EV because they don’t drive it far each month, or purchased a more expensive luxury EV.”

Petrol is more expensive than electricity for propelling a car over the same distance, and electric motors have fewer moving parts so need less maintenance and repairs. But you must be using your car for the savings to mount up enough to outweigh the higher up-front costs of switching to electric, Flip the Fleet says.

The financial gain has many EV owners wondering why more Kiwis aren’t buying EVs now. One respondent says; “Buying an EV has raised my standard of living by being cheaper to run. And my EV is safe and oh so comfortable.”

Some people buy EVs mainly for environmental reasons, particularly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change. One says; “You’re saving money while you’re saving the planet.”

Ivanov says many people are waiting unnecessarily before switching to EVs.

“Several of our drivers pointed out in this poll that you can put the money you save from buying an EV now into upgrading to a newer and improved EV model later.”

One respondent says; “Electric cars are a bit like computers and phones – there is never an ideal time to get into the market as there is always something better on the horizon. But the sooner you enter the market, the sooner you start making savings and a difference to the environment.”

Buying an EV now is a smart option for two-car families,” Ivanov says. “You can keep a conventional vehicle for occasional long trips or towing, and still more than pay for the back-up by switching most of your running over to an EV for most of your local weekly travel needs.”

Only 21% of the households contributing data to Flip the Fleet own just one EV, or occasionally two, and no internal combustion vehicles. The rest have one (64%), two (13%) or even three (1.3%) internal combustion vehicles as well as their EVs.

The poll project is partly funded by the business, innovation and employment ministry’s Curious Minds portfolio, through the Otago Museum.

Visit www.flipthefleet.org for more information.