Successful people are driving electric vehicles (EVs) because they are the future.

Many people might think they can’t afford an EV yet. But successful people act as if they have enough money now. They drive around in the vehicle they do want, or if it’s not quite the right one, they’re heading purposefully towards it.

If EVs are more expensive, how come you can save money?

The answer is to stop focusing on the upfront cost of buying one. If you looked at the upfront cost of, say, starting a business, you would probably think twice about it. It’s the same if you consider the costs of buying a house.

But in the case of an EV, you don’t need to think twice.

There are five ways buying an EV can actually save you money.

How Owning an Electric Vehicle Saves You Money

1. Fuel

This one is so obvious but people who are used to going to a petrol station to refuel a car can’t imagine doing anything different. But it is a massive three times cheaper to recharge an EV than it is to put gas in your car.

Here are some statistics from Queensland, Australia:

• Electricity per kilowatt hours costs 25 Australian cents

• It costs $A3.75 to go 100 kilometres in an EV

• Fuel per litre costs $A1.42

• It costs $A10.80 to go 100 kilometres in a fuel car

This means driving in your brand new EV costs you a third of what you spend filling up a regular car.

Annual fuel savings over 13,300kms – the distance travelled by an average Aussie – are $A937. It’s nearly a thousand dollars. That goes a long way too.

Beyond individual savings, the installation of EV car chargers in commercial spaces can further enhance cost efficiency for businesses and consumers. By providing convenient charging options at workplaces or shopping centers, businesses can attract more EV owners while contributing to the broader adoption of electric vehicles.

This shift not only benefits the environment but also helps to reduce overall fuel expenses for a larger segment of the population. The growing infrastructure for EV charging is a crucial component in making electric vehicles a more accessible and economical choice for everyone.

According to a research, you can save money all over the US:

• Drivers in Hawaii spend $1,106 a year to charge an EV, compared to $1,509 on a gas guzzler

• Lucky motorists in Alabama spend only $481 per year on electricity and $993 on fuel

• In Washington state, you spend a mere $372 on charging, compared to $1,338 on gas.

Read also: 5 Signs You Need a New Car

2. Electricity

The wonderful thing about electricity is supply is stable and the cost of buying it is usually more consistent than fuel. So while fuel prices can jump around all over the place, electricity prices tend not to.

In the past 10 years, fuel in the US went from $1.50 to $4 per gallon.

But EV drivers paid $1.20 for electricity for the same journey.

You can go one better than using electricity generated by someone else – make your own!

The wisest investor will be putting solar panels on their roof, or anywhere else that makes practical sense. That way, they generate electricity for their home and their vehicle.

The upfront cost of putting in panels doesn’t bother the successful person who wants to be master of their own destiny – not some utility.

3. Maintenance

Many people fail to think about the cost of maintaining their vehicle. Especially, when they drive away a new one, shiny, up to date, perfect. But even a vehicle that was near perfect when it left the factory will suffer wear and tear once it hits the road.

This is where you can save big money.

Your gas guzzling vehicle has an internal combustion engine. That means spark plugs, exhausts, fuel and oil filters, radiators. All these have to be maintained and every bit of maintenance means parts and labour.

Your EV has no internal combustion engine. It may even have regenerative braking, which means the electric motor does more braking than the brake pads.

Even if your eyes glaze over when you read all this, the message is you will save a lot of money on maintenance.

What’s more, electric cars are less likely to end up in a car junk yard.

4. Insurance/registration

Nobody wants to recognise how much it costs to insure and register a vehicle. It’s one of those evils, like income tax, that we try to ignore.

But all governments expect you to register your vehicle to drive on their roads (and in some cases, privately owned roads).

In Australian states, there are small rewards for registering an EV.

In Canberra (the capital) or Queensland, you get a 20% discount on the cost of registration. In Victoria, you save $A100 for driving a hybrid or EV. In New South Wales, you pay less vehicle tax on a car with lower emissions and this makes registration cheaper.

Motorists in the UK pay no road tax on an EV, but have to fork out around 100-140 UK pounds for a fuelled vehicle.

Who wants to pay road tax anyway?

5. Incentives

The UK government is a bit more generous than the Australian government with incentives to buy an EV. Grants available are around 4,500 UK pounds.

According to a study, pure EVs are already cheaper to own and run over four years than fuel cars because of subsidies.

These kinds of government subsidies are great and helped to make Norway the poster child for EVs.

In the US, you might qualify for a plug-in electric drive motor vehicle tax credit. It’s a mouthful, but you could save $7,500 on your tax.

Now that’s a huge amount of tax for a successful person who is starting to earn big.

Some US state utilities offer lower prices for owners of EVs. They can make charging your EV cheaper, depending on the time you do it.

So what are you waiting for?

These are five wonderful ways you can save big money by buying an EV.

What’s more important is what you choose to do with the money you save.