If you are a UAE resident and is planning to buy / exchange a car, the first puzzle you need to solve is deciding on the fuel that powers your car. Figures suggest that the volume of petrol sold in UAE declined in the last year, as government entities are pushing more towards electric cars along with the growing trend of using more public transport and car sharing. It is good to see that the dependency on fossil fuels are reducing, but on pure economic terms, which car saves you more bucks ? What is the more economical way to spend your hard earned money when you buy a car ? Here are some revealing numbers.
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There is no mystery regarding the fact that electric cars are cheaper to run. For instance, a Tesla Model 3 running for 100 kilometres will be 200 percent more economical than driving a petrol vehicle for the same distance. You will need to shed Dh 5.14 off your purse to travel that distance in Tesla model 3, but the petrol would draw Dh 15.78 out of your wealth. So If you have the option of getting a car for free, you always want to settle on to an electric car! But who is going to give you one for free ? That’s were the difference in cost of the models cut a picture of stark contrast.
The high price associated with Tesla models would significantly cut short the advantage of running on a cheaper fuel. So based on the money you can save per 100 kilometres and the average price of the cars, a UAE driver will have to drive 2.2 million kilometres to recover the extra money he spend on buying car.
Adding to the ‘high price’ woes of electric cars is the lack of adequate number of charging stations. A sizeable Dubai population lives in apartments and this will limit the potential of electric /hybrid cars. The distance that an electric car can run in one full charge will be reduced by the extensive use of air conditioning. Electric / hybrid cars are more lucrative in countries with higher fuel prices, but in GCC fuel doesn’t put a hole in your budget.
Bigger batteries, adequate charging infrastructure and more economical electric / hybrid cars will be crucial to its success in the coming years. At least for the moment, petrol cars are the better deal for your money. But yes, if budget is not a constrain and you want to go green, electric cars are all there for you
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