Maintenance costs for a light-duty, battery-powered car are around 40 percent less per mile than for a gas-powered car, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory.
The Office Of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy highlighted the findings in a new post, which explains that electric vehicles lack timing belts, oxygen sensors, fuel filters, spark plugs, multi-speed transmissions and other parts than can prove costly to service in conventional cars. And, whereas gas-powered cars require regular oil changes, EVs have no need for motor oil.
The report finds that while gasoline-powered cars cost around 10 cents per mile on average to maintain, electric cars cost only around 6 cents per mile. Hybrid cars cost around 9 cents per mile to maintain, with savings on brake maintenance making them cheaper to service than conventional vehicles. The findings add to a growing body of work showing that, factoring in savings on maintenance and fuel, EVs are often cheaper to own than conventional cars, despite having higher upfront costs.
Read more at Yale Environment 360
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