Are electric cars in danger?
A liter of gasoline is subsidized at the same time as the price of kWh rises, as the legislator encourages more and more motorists to switch to electric cars.
You might not have missed it, especially if you drive a thermal car, it’s hard to find petrol or diesel at TotalEnergies stations right now. Reason ? Single since Thursday 1ster In September, the discount given by the state was reduced from 18 cents to 30 cents per liter of fuel.
Added to this is a subsidy from TotalEnergies of 20 cents per liter until October 31 and then 10 cents per liter until the end of 2022. So with two cumulative discounts, this gives a total discount of 32 euro cents per litre. So prices at the pump are once again similar to prices in May 2021, before the price hike.
At the same time, the wholesale price of electricity for 2023 in France was reached at the end of August €1,100 MW against 85 euros a year agoThe result of the war in Ukraine, as well as the lack of nuclear power plants in France.
If the fuel subsidy will lighten the wallet of many French people, let’s not forget that the purchase of an electric car is also subsidized thanks to the environmental bonus. Still, despite the bonus, buying a new electric car and a new car, even a thermal one, remains particularly expensive.
An episodic phenomenon?
These decisions and these figures inevitably mark spirits and may question the idea of switching to electric mobility. What should curb the enthusiasm around the electric car? Chances are slim. 2% in 2019 electric cars have risen to 12% of new passenger car registrations in France In the first eight months of 2022.
Even if the price of electricity goes up and the price of gasoline goes down, it is an episodic event that will not last long. Between traffic restrictions and a sales ban by 2035, pressures on thermal vehicles continue to drive the purchase of electric cars. Not counting the above-mentioned government aid or even financial offers from producers, it is sometimes as attractive as the heat equivalent.
Supplements at home are always beneficial
But will the increase in the price of electricity really affect the sale of electric cars in the end? Normally not, because thanks to the French it has to be protected globally to the tariff shield This is especially applicable when we know that according to the National Association for the Development of Electric Mobility (Avere-France), 80% of charging is done at home and at work. A tariff shield is in place at home and growth has so far been limited to 4%. The government has promised to update the device in 2023.
Therefore, the increase in the bill should not be very significant this winter, even in less protected countries like the UK, driving an electric car will always be cheaper than petrol or diesel.
Yet according to Avere-France, we must stay to fill the house About two euros per 100 km (three euros in the most pessimistic case, as we saw together in our file on the advantages and disadvantages of driving an electric car), during combustion we remain between 12 and 16 euros, depending on the performance of the cars. Also keep in mind that some suppliers offer discounted prices during “hyper off-peak” hours, late at night or early in the morning. Enough to charge electrons at a lower cost.
Charging at more expensive public terminals?
But for operators of public charging stations, it’s a different story. The question of increases begins to arise. Some, notably Tesla, changed their prices in the first half of this year, and other suppliers should do the same. For example, Allego, which claims more than 28,000 charging points in Europe, announced that kWh prices in several countries, including France, have increased by 15-20% since the beginning of September.
However, caution should be exercised as some station operators are not exposed to wholesale prices in the same way. For example, EDF says it has no plans to raise prices at public charging stations currently operated by its private subsidiary Izivia. However, prices could rise from 2023 as operators’ large electricity contracts are expected to expire.
Cost per use in favor of electric car
If filling up electrons today is no more expensive than filling up with gasoline, tomorrow, and probably won’t be until at least the sale of thermal models is banned. Overall, the spring oil shock attracted new buyers, and despite the discounts, customers still find the price at the pump too high. But in the long run, various subsidies (price at the pump and tariff shield) will be difficult to sustain, be it thermal cars or electricity.
Some media have suggested that from October 1st in the UK, charging an electric car will cost more than refueling a thermal car. But this is a lie and we are telling you why.
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