A vehicle’s total cost of ownership (TCO) includes the purchasing price, but also running costs, repairs, taxes, maintenance, depreciation and resale values. People underestimate the total cost of owning a car by around 50%, which illustrates car owners’ very low awareness of their vehicle lifetime costs.
When a TCO analysis is made, electric cars become the optimal investment. There is therefore no reason why companies should not start the transition from petrol or diesel to electric fleets. Fully electric company cars are already the cheapest option today, both for large/premium and medium models.
The TCO calculation also takes into account the existing tax benefits for EVs, which shows that part of the TCO benefit comes from taxation policies favourable to EVs.
There is simply no business case for companies to operate diesel or petrol vehicles in their fleets. Combining the TCO focus of companies with the fact that most countries provide generous fiscal regimes for companies who purchase EVs, it makes sense for companies in Europe to go full electric starting today.
