Free Tool · Running Cost
EV vs Petrol Cost Calculator
See exactly how much you save by going electric. Enter your driving habits, electricity tariff and petrol price to compare real per-km running costs, your yearly savings and how quickly an EV pays back — all on real-world 2026 efficiency figures.
Your inputs
You save over 5 years
Running the Tata Nexon EV on electricity vs an equivalent 18 kmpl petrol vehicle, on energy / fuel cost alone.
Total spend over 5 years
Estimates only. Figures cover energy / fuel cost alone and exclude purchase price, insurance, maintenance, inflation and subsidies. Assumes ~10% home-charging loss; actuals vary with tariffs, driving style and conditions.
How we calculate your savings
The calculator turns a few simple inputs into a clear rupee figure. You tell it your annual kilometres — how far you drive in a typical year — and it scales everything to that distance. Your electricity tariff (₹/unit) sets the price of charging at home; a unit is one kilowatt-hour (kWh), and most Indian households pay somewhere between ₹6 and ₹10 per unit depending on slab and state.
On the EV side, the key number is its real efficiency, expressed in kWh per km — how much energy the car actually uses to cover a kilometre. We base this on real-world figures rather than lab claims, because that is what shows up on your electricity bill. Crucially, we add roughly 10% for home-charging loss: AC charging wastes some energy as heat, so the units you pay for are slightly more than the energy stored in the battery.
For the comparison, you enter the current petrol price (₹/litre) and your petrol car's mileage (km/litre). Dividing fuel price by mileage gives the petrol cost per km; multiplying EV efficiency by your tariff gives the electric cost per km. The difference, scaled by your annual kilometres, is your fuel saving — before we even count maintenance.
Why EVs cost less to run
The headline reason is the energy-cost gap per km. Electric motors convert a far larger share of their input energy into motion than a petrol engine, and electricity is simply cheaper per unit of useful work than petrol. In practice an EV often costs ₹1–₹2 per km to charge at home against ₹6–₹8 per km for petrol — a difference that compounds fast over thousands of kilometres a year.
The second big saving is maintenance. An EV has dramatically fewer moving parts: no spark plugs, no timing belt, no clutch, no multi-speed gearbox and no engine oil to replace every few thousand kilometres. That removes a whole category of recurring service costs. Routine upkeep narrows to tyres, brake fluid, coolant, cabin filters and software — usually a fraction of what a comparable petrol car costs to service each year.
Regenerative braking adds a quieter saving. When you lift off the accelerator or brake gently, the motor recovers energy back into the battery instead of wasting it as heat in the brake pads. That recaptured energy stretches your range and means brake pads and discs last far longer than on a petrol car.
Reaching break-even
EVs usually cost more to buy than an equivalent petrol model, but they cost much less to run. Break-even — or payback — is the point where the running-cost savings have fully offset that higher purchase price. The more you drive, the faster you get there: a high-mileage commuter banks the per-km saving every single day, while a light user takes longer to recover the upfront premium.
Two things shorten the wait. First, the price gap itself is smaller than the sticker suggests once you apply EV subsidies and incentives — state purchase support, road-tax and registration waivers, and the 5% GST on EVs. Second, the running-cost saving keeps working in the background year after year. If you are financing the car, the EV EMI Calculator helps you see how the monthly payment sits against those fuel savings.
What the estimate does and doesn't include
To stay honest, it is worth being clear about the edges. The calculator focuses on the running-cost story — electricity versus petrol, plus the maintenance advantage — and deliberately leaves out several real but hard-to-predict factors. It does not model battery degradation (a battery slowly loses capacity over many years), inflation in electricity or fuel prices, or differences in insurance premiums between an EV and a petrol car.
It also assumes mostly home charging at your stated tariff; leaning on expensive public DC fast chargers would raise your real per-km cost. Treat the output as a solid, directional estimate to frame your decision — not a precise forecast. To go deeper, browse the full EV catalogue or line up specific models in the compare tool.
Indicative only. Figures are estimates based on the inputs you provide and typical real-world conditions. Actual costs vary with driving style, weather, traffic, electricity slab and fuel prices — verify current tariffs for your city before making a purchase decision.
Frequently asked questions
How much cheaper is an EV per km than a petrol car?+
In most Indian conditions an electric car costs roughly ₹1–₹2 per km in electricity, while a petrol car costs ₹6–₹8 per km in fuel. That makes an EV typically 70–85% cheaper to 'fuel'. The exact gap depends on your electricity tariff, the EV's efficiency, your petrol car's mileage and the current petrol price — which is exactly what the calculator works out for your inputs.
How much does it cost to fully charge an EV at home?+
Multiply the usable battery size by your tariff, then add about 10% for charging losses. For example, a 40 kWh battery at ₹8 per unit costs roughly 40 × 8 × 1.1 ≈ ₹352 for a near-full charge, which might give 300–350 km of real-world range. Slab tariffs, time-of-day rates and a dedicated EV meter can change this, so the calculator uses your own ₹/unit figure.
How many years does it take to break even versus petrol?+
Break-even depends on the price gap at purchase and how much you drive. A buyer covering 12,000–15,000 km a year often recovers the EV's higher upfront cost in about 4–6 years through fuel and maintenance savings; high-mileage drivers can break even sooner. Subsidies, road-tax waivers and the 5% GST on EVs shorten the payback further.
Do EVs really need less maintenance?+
Yes. An electric motor has far fewer moving parts than a petrol engine, with no spark plugs, no timing belts, no clutch and no engine oil to change. Regenerative braking also reduces brake-pad wear. Servicing is mostly tyres, brake fluid, coolant and cabin filters, so annual maintenance is typically a fraction of a comparable petrol car's.
Does the calculator account for charging losses?+
Yes. Home AC charging is not 100% efficient — some energy is lost as heat in the charger and battery. We factor in roughly 10% loss, so the electricity you actually pay for is a little higher than the energy stored in the battery. This keeps the per-km estimate realistic rather than optimistic.
Is electricity always cheaper than petrol for running a car?+
Almost always in India, but not infinitely so. If you rely heavily on commercial DC fast chargers at ₹18–₹24 per unit instead of home charging, your per-km cost rises sharply and can approach a very efficient petrol car. For most owners who charge mainly at home, electricity stays dramatically cheaper.
Does this calculator include the car's purchase price or EMI?+
No. This tool focuses on running cost — fuel versus electricity, plus the maintenance advantage — to show your ongoing savings and rough payback. For the financing side, use the EV EMI Calculator, and check current incentives on the EV subsidies guide to see how they reduce the effective purchase price.
How accurate are the savings figures?+
They are a good directional estimate, not a guarantee. Real costs vary with driving style, weather, traffic, terrain and how prices move over time. The calculator deliberately excludes battery degradation, inflation and insurance differences, so treat the output as indicative and verify current tariffs and fuel prices for your city.