Why EVs Actually Save You Money (And It’s Not Even Close)
Here’s a wild stat: for every dollar you spend on gas, only 20 cents actually moves your car forward. The rest? Lost to heat, friction, and inefficiency.
Now compare that to an electric vehicle. A whopping 67 cents of every dollar goes directly into motion. Add another 22 cents from regenerative braking (that’s free energy recovered when you slow down), and you’re getting 89 cents of useful energy per dollar spent.
The Math Gets Even Better
Let’s look at what it takes to drive 100km:
- A sleek EV uses about 15kWh per 100km
- A big EV SUV or pickup uses 20-25kWh per 100km
- Gas vehicles? They’re guzzling 6-12 liters per 100km
To compare apples to apples, we can convert everything to megajoules (MJ). Don’t worry—a megajoule is just a million joules, and a joule is basically the energy needed to lift an apple one meter. It’s also the energy you would use when you run a 100-watt lightbulb for one second.
Here’s the conversion:
- 1 kWh = 3.6 MJ
- 1 liter of gas = 34.2 MJ
So an average EV using 18kWh per 100km consumes about 65 MJ. A typical gas car using 8 liters per 100km? That’s a hefty 274 MJ—over four times more energy.
Show Me The Money
Based on average prices (March 2025 electricity, October 2025 gas/petrol):
- EV: $3.02 per 100km
- Gas car: $12.96 per 100km
Drive 20,000km a year (pretty typical)? You’re looking at:
- EV: $604
- Gas car: $2,592
That’s $1,988 in savings. Every. Single. Year.
And we’re only talking fuel here. EVs have way fewer moving parts—no oil changes, no transmission repairs, less brake wear thanks to regenerative braking. Maintenance costs are significantly lower too.
Pro tip: If you’re in a Canadian jurisdiction with off-peak electricity rates, charging at home overnight could slash your costs even further—sometimes to a third of the standard rate.
Your wallet will thank you.
