There is an ongoing debate in the automobile industry about how much savings can one actually do in the real world if you buy an EV vs a petrol car.
In this blog post, we shall compare the running costs associated with the Tata Tiago EV vs petrol. The reason for choosing Tiago is because it is the most affordable EV in the country which is also available in petrol guise. But we must mention that the arguments presented in this post will be applicable to all EVs and petrol cars in general. Therefore, this post should not be strictly considered valid for just the Tiago. So without any further ado, let us get into this.
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Tata Tiago EV
The electric version of the Tiago hatchback comes with two battery pack options – a 19.2 kWh LFP and a 24 kWh LFP unit. The former outputs 61 hp / 110 Nm, while the latter is good for 75 hp / 114 Nm of peak power and torque respectively. But the most important statistic for the users will be the range that they could expect in each of these versions. With the smaller battery pack, one could expect 257 km, whereas, with the larger battery, one could get 315 km of range. Note that these are ideal numbers but in the real world, one could get a range of around 180 km to 250 km. This would depend on your driving mannerisms and temperature conditions.
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The petrol version has a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder engine that generates 85 hp and 113 Nm of peak power and torque. This mill can be mated to either a 5-speed manual or an AMT automatic transmission. The ARAI-rated mileage hovers around 19 km/l. We could expect real-world fuel economy figures of around 14 km/l (city and highway combined). It is interesting to consider the real-world figures for petrol and EV range to base our calculations on.
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Running Costs of Tiago EV
For the purpose of our calculations, we have to set some parameters that are possible in the real world. Let us consider that two drivers use these cars for 1 year where they drive 10,000 km. In the case of the Tiago EV, we are considering a moderate range of 250 km with a bigger battery pack. It has a 24 kWh battery capacity. Taking the charging cost of electricity to be around Rs 7 per kWh (mix of domestic home rate and commercial public charging), it could be charged fully for Rs 168 for a single cycle. To cover 10,000 km, it will have to be charged 40 times (10,000/250). This makes the total charging cost to be around Rs 6,720. That comes down to Rs 0.67 per km.
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Runnings Costs of Tiago Petrol
On the other hand, if we consider a driver using the Tiago petrol for the same 10,000 km, he would use around 715 litres of petrol (mileage assumed – 14 km/l). At the moment, the average prices of petrol in the country are around Rs 100 per litre. Hence, he/she would have spent around Rs 71,500 to refuel the car to cover 10,000 km, Hence, the fuel cost comes out to be Rs 7.15 per km. This is a huge difference and it only gets increased over time because the fuel prices are likely to go up, whereas the EV prices will start falling with the increasing volumes of the battery.
| Parameter | Tiago Petrol | Tiago EV |
| Engine | 1.2-litre | 19.2 & 24 kWh (battery) |
| Transmission | 5 MT & AMT | 1-Speed |
| Power | 85 hp | 75 hp |
| Torque | 113 NM | 114 Nm |
| Running Cost | Rs 7.15 per km | Rs 0.67 per km |
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Difference in Prices
The comparable XZ Plus trim of the Tiago EV costs Rs 11.54 lakh, while the petrol trim costs just Rs 7.11 lakh, ex-showroom. The price difference comes out to be Rs 4.43 lakh. Looking at our calculations above, in the first year with around 10,000 km on the odometer, the running costs for the Tiago EV are around Rs 64,000 less expensive than the petrol trim. If we consider a similar trend for the first 5 years, you would barely be able to cover the high initial cost that you have already paid. On top of that, if you were to invest that same premium of around Rs 4 lakh wisely even in a safe instrument, you would have been able to generate around 7% returns which comes out to be around Rs 1.50 lakh in 5 years. Hence, you would have had Rs 5.50 lakh more if you would’ve gone for the petrol trim.
| Price | Tiago Petrol | Tiago EV |
| Base Model | Rs 5.60 lakh | Rs 8.69 lakh |
| Top Model | Rs 8.11 lakh | Rs 12.04 lakh |
Verdict
The experts in the automobile industry know that the battery costs almost around 50% of the total cost of an EV. As a result, the initial cost of an EV is significantly higher than its ICE-powered counterpart. Now, even though the running costs for EVs are much lower, it still is not justified to pay the premium because you will need to own it for at least 8-10 years before you could experience actual savings.
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However, on the other side, going forward, we could expect the EV battery prices to come down. While the prices of petrol will rise. That is when going for an EV could actually make financial sense for just about everyone. We also know that while the tailpipe emissions from EVs are zero, there is a lot of pollution caused during the manufacturing of the batteries. Moreover, the battery disposal after it is discarded also creates environmental degradation since proper disposal management is not in place. Hence, it is not that the EVs are a perfect solution to tackle the future mobility issues.
