New York City Says Its Saved A Ton Of Money With Its Electric Vehicle Fleet

As the prices of electric vehicles continue to fall, many expect them to slowly take over the automotive market in the coming decades.

At least one recent study suggests that electric vehicles will reach price parity with gas and diesel vehicles by 2024. However, for some fleet operators, EVs can already be more cost effective to operate in large numbers than ICE vehicles.

Quartz reports that the New York City government has been adding a number of electric vehicles to its fleet. While these cars often cost more to buy, figures show that they have significantly lower maintenance costs.

Data via Atlas

“NYC Fleet has more experience with electric vehicles than most, so we took a look at last year’s maintenance costs with the DCAS client fleet to see if these service benefits are materializing,” reads a New York City Fleet Newsletter sent earlier this month. “Right now, servicing costs with our all-electric vehicle models is dramatically less than with gas, hybrid, or hybrid plug-in models. In general, our hybrid models also achieve benefits from gas models, though the most dramatic results in this report are with the all electrics.”

Data released by New York City’s fleet management agency shows that in 2018, Chevrolet Bolts in the city’s fleet had average maintenance costs of $205. The Nissan Leaf and electric Ford Focus followed closely behind with $344 and $386 respectively in maintenance costs. At the other end of the spectrum sits the gas-powered Ford Focus, with $1,805.

“All early indicators are that we are achieving the fuel, emissions, and maintenance benefits of this exciting transition away from the internal combustion engine,” the agency wrote.

When compared to a gas Ford Fusion, the Leaf costs almost $3,000 more, with a $25,797 price tag compared to the $22,866 of the Fusion. However, whereas the Fusion uses $765 worth of fuel per year, the Leaf uses $141 worth of electricity. The EV also has significantly lower maintenance costs and, despite requiring a $2,656 charger, may only cost the city $32,580 over a period of nine years. By comparison, the Fusion has an expected cost of $41,328 over the same time period.