21 Mar 2023

The benefits of owning an electric car

Are you thinking of making the leap from your traditional gas-powered car to an electric car? Electric vehicle (EV) ownership has become mainstream and EVs offer owners substantial savings over time through lower maintenance and operational costs.

When purchasing an EV, it’s not just the up-front purchasing costs you need to consider. EVs have far fewer moving parts (up to 80% in fact) than conventional gasoline engine cars, which means that repair costs due to mechanical failure and regular servicing are significantly lower than cars with a combustion engine. In a year-over-year comparison, EVs can save you up to US$949 just on maintenance costs alone, according to the American Automobile Association.

Of course, this total cost-benefit ratio does depend on where you live, your driving habits, gas prices, domestic electricity rates, and the availability of a direct current (DC) public charging infrastructure.

What are the aspects that affect electric car prices?

It’s important to highlight that technological advances, reduced pack-level battery costs and the proliferation of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are quickly helping to create a price parity with conventional vehicles – today, one in every seven cars sold is an EV. The increased popularity of electric vehicles has already led to expanded production levels, and this has resulted in reducing the cost of an EV. Plus, the decline in pricing is expected to continue to go down from about US$105/kWh* by 2025 to US$74/kWh by 2030

In addition, the drive from governments around the world to establish zero-emission vehicle mandates to meet climate and sustainability targets has accelerated the benefits and incentives of owning an EV. Several governments have set ambitious targets of 100% sales of zero-emission new vehicles over the coming two decades.

For its part, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking to transform mobility by not only encouraging the adoption of EVs, but also establishing the region’s first EV manufacturing hub, of which Ceer will play a pivotal role in the Kingdom’s objectives to produce 300K+ electric vehicles annually.

The overall aim is to build a new industry that will contribute to Saudi Vision 2030, diversify the Saudi economy and create tens of thousands of high-value jobs. Backed by significant investments in EV adoption, at least 30% of vehicles in the capital city of Riyadh are expected to be EVs by 2030.

The value of EVs is increasingly recognized by consumers making the shift from conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs.

A breakdown of the numbers

A recent white paper from the International Council of Clean Transportation studied the ownership costs and consumer benefits in the US between 2022 and 2035. In addition to the above-mentioned reduced battery pack and advances in technology, the study found that, by 2025, light-duty BEVs with up to 300 miles of range have a lower six-year cost of ownership compared to similar gas-powered vehicles.

And if you happened to have one of the shorter 150-200-mile range vehicle classes, the ownership cost parity was achieved immediately.

The study also showed that during this same six-year period, EV owners purchasing their cars in 2025 can expect maintenance cost savings ranging from $6,600 to $11,000—with BEV SUVs offering the highest levels of savings.

Connectivity brings down costs and delivers an improved customer experience

There are many considerations that come into play when buying a car. Pricing is one. The richness of features is another. Nowhere is this truer than in Saudi Arabia, where consumers have a love of technology and readily adopt new tech concepts.

Electric vehicles are very much computers on wheels. Through their internet connectivity and connected capability, they offer substantial scope to improve their drivers’ daily lives.

Instead of the not particularly descriptive “check engine” light, imagine a vehicle that reminds drivers to change their oil or predictively pinpoints the specific maintenance required.  Imagine also booking an appointment at your preferred service center at the click of a button. Or even receiving feature enhancements over-the-air just as your smartphone does, reducing costs and delivering maximum convenience.

EVs are also safer to drive than gasoline-powered cars, thanks in part to driver-assistance software. They are also able to collect data on driving habits. Both factors contribute to lowering insurance premiums for EVs, especially for safe drivers.

These are not dreams, electric vehicles are real linchpins to an improved mobility experience.

At Ceer, we are driven by a mission to leverage the capability of electric vehicles and their connectivity by working in an integrated fashion with partners, suppliers and solution providers to revolutionize the overall automotive experience and deliver maximum customer satisfaction.

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*kWh stands for kilowatt hour, the unit of energy that is used to talk about electric car battery capacity and the ‘amount’ of energy put into the battery via the charger.