Reference
Electric vs Petrol Running Cost Tables
What a kilometre costs on petrol and on electricity, across the fuel prices, tariffs and efficiencies people actually have — and how far you must drive to earn back what an electric car costs extra to buy. Indian prices, computed rather than quoted.
Prices usedIndian pump and tariff prices
Charging at home decides it — not the car
Run the numbers and the fuel question splits cleanly in two.
On a home tariff the electric car wins and it is not close: about ₹2 a kilometre against ₹4.20 to ₹10.50 for petrol, depending on the car. Two to five times cheaper, whichever pair you compare.
On public fast charging alone the advantage very nearly disappears. Public DC runs two to three times the home rate, and at that price an inefficient electric car costs about ₹5 a kilometre — while a frugal 25 km/L petrol hatchback costs ₹4.20. In that corner petrol is genuinely cheaper. If you cannot charge where you park, an electric car is not automatically the cheaper thing to run, whatever the usual comparison tells you.
So for most people fuel is not really the open question — it is settled the moment they know where they will charge. What is left open is whether the extra money at purchase comes back, which is the third table.
Petrol: cost per kilometre
Pump price divided by mileage. Nothing more complicated than that, tabulated so you can find your own row without arithmetic.
| Pump price₹/litre | 10 km/L₹/km | 15 km/L₹/km | 20 km/L₹/km | 25 km/L₹/km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | 9.00 | 6.00 | 4.50 | 3.60 |
| 100 | 10.00 | 6.67 | 5.00 | 4.00 |
| 105 | 10.50 | 7.00 | 5.25 | 4.20 |
| 110 | 11.00 | 7.33 | 5.50 | 4.40 |
| 120 | 12.00 | 8.00 | 6.00 | 4.80 |
Electric: cost per kilometre
Tariff divided by efficiency. The two rows that matter most are marked: the home tariff, and the public DC rate that so many comparisons quietly leave out.
| Tariff₹/kWh | 4 km/kWh₹/km | 6 km/kWh₹/km | 8 km/kWh₹/km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1.25 | 0.83 | 0.63 |
| 8 (home) | 2.00 | 1.33 | 1.00 |
| 12 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 1.50 |
| 16 | 4.00 | 2.67 | 2.00 |
| 20 (public DC) | 5.00 | 3.33 | 2.50 |
Earning back the price premium
Once you know where you will charge, the saving per kilometre is fixed and the only question left is how far you have to drive to recover what the electric car cost extra. Find your premium down the side and your saving across the top.
| Price premium | 2₹/km saved | 3₹/km saved | 4₹/km saved | 5₹/km saved | 6₹/km saved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100,000 | 50,000 km · 3.3 y | 33,000 km · 2.2 y | 25,000 km · 1.7 y | 20,000 km · 1.3 y | 17,000 km · 1.1 y |
| 200,000 | 100,000 km · 6.7 y | 67,000 km · 4.4 y | 50,000 km · 3.3 y | 40,000 km · 2.7 y | 33,000 km · 2.2 y |
| 300,000 | 150,000 km · 10.0 y | 100,000 km · 6.7 y | 75,000 km · 5.0 y | 60,000 km · 4.0 y | 50,000 km · 3.3 y |
| 400,000 | 200,000 km · 13.3 y | 133,000 km · 8.9 y | 100,000 km · 6.7 y | 80,000 km · 5.3 y | 67,000 km · 4.4 y |
| 500,000 | 250,000 km · 16.7 y | 167,000 km · 11.1 y | 125,000 km · 8.3 y | 100,000 km · 6.7 y | 83,000 km · 5.6 y |
| 600,000 | 300,000 km · 20.0 y | 200,000 km · 13.3 y | 150,000 km · 10.0 y | 120,000 km · 8.0 y | 100,000 km · 6.7 y |