Pay as you drive car insurance news - Electric cars are an expensive purchase

Car insurance news - Pay as you drive cover helps save money now

Drivers with pay as you drive car insurance are already making savings on their motoring costs whatever type of fuel powers their vehicle.

It has been reported that drivers who choose an electric car won't necessarily benefit financially from the purchase until 2030.

A study carried out by Element Energy, commissioned by Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LCVP), has discovered that the total cost of owning an electric car is, on average, £5000 more than the amount a car owner would spend on a conventional petrol or diesel-powered car.

However, to meet the UK's emissions targets, the government's climate advisors have stated that they would like to see 11 million electric or hybrid car models on the roads by 2030.

A government scheme offers a £5000 grant towards the purchase of selected electric cars, but an electric car still works out to be a more expensive purchase overall. Nonetheless, an electric car is much cheaper to run than a conventional car – a Nissan Leaf costs around 2p per mile whereas a Ford Focus costs around 14p per mile.

The LCVP has reported that lower carbon emissions are produced over the lifetime of an electric car compared to petrol and diesel cars, provided that the electric car is powered with renewable electricity.

The report suggests that by 2030 drivers could significantly reduce their carbon footprint with the use of an electric car.

Low mileage insurance already encourages drivers to make carbon savings on their transport use, and holders of pay as you drive insurance could reduce their effect on the environment even further by choosing to drive fewer miles annually.