Will EV prices ever reach parity with petrol cars?

[CactusJackEV]

Been taking a look and doing some basic research

On used cars, in Q1 2026 used EVs and petrol cars hit near-identical average prices for the first time, separated by just £241, and us buyers can now actually get a younger, lower-mileage EV for slightly less than a comparable petrol car. Obviously this is a big deal for overall car value and it feels like it came faster than we expected. This is largely because a wave of salary-sacrifice EVs coming off three-year contracts has flooded the used market with well-maintained stock at soft prices according to Hitches and Glitches.

New cars tell a different story. The average new EV in the UK still sits at around £46,000, which is a fair chunk above the average new petrol car and we all can hazard a guess as to why. Interestingly to me, battery pack prices fell 8% to $108 per kWh in 2025 and are forecast to drop further in 2026, but European prices are still running 56% above Chinese equivalents... So parity has arrived in China but not here yet. New EV prices did fall around 4% in 2025 driven by more affordable model launches, and the sub-£30k segment is genuinely growing, but full parity on new cars is probably still a few years out. My sources here were Tesla Charger, EcoHarmony and D&R Energy.

The running cost picture is already there though. Home charging on an off-peak tariff costs roughly around 2-7p per mile versus 12-20p per mile for petrol at current pump prices (but take this with a pinch of salt due to world conflicts, oil prices, the UK grid infrastructure etc. But if you can charge at home, the total ownership maths already favour the EV pretty comfortably even with a higher sticker price. The people for whom parity genuinely hasn't arrived yet are those relying on public rapid charging, where the per-mile cost starts closing the gap with petrol quickly.

[georgeyboy12345]

I predict there will be parity for a short while before EVs actually become cheaper due to falling battery prices, their lower complexity and regulation tightening on petrol engines.

[Tracklover]

If you factor in environmental "cost" as well, EVs are clearly cheaper.

[Sheepshanks]

CactusJackEV said:

The average new EV in the UK still sits at around £46,000, which is a fair chunk above the average new petrol car....

I guess that's list price - I wonder how it looks post discounts?

As it happens, the EV we have listed at £46K. Actually paid £36K 18mths ago and I could buy a new one today, although not with the options we had, for under £30K.

[malaccamax]

Sheepshanks said:

CactusJackEV said:

The average new EV in the UK still sits at around £46,000, which is a fair chunk above the average new petrol car....

I guess that's list price - I wonder how it looks post discounts?

As it happens, the EV we have listed at £46K. Actually paid £36K 18mths ago and I could buy a new one today, although not with the options we had, for under £30K.

Yeah this 'average price' thing is pretty meaningless. As you say what are the discounts and how do models compare like for like with ICE/hybrid equivalents (which are usually also discounted)? Most carmakers got into bigger EVs first because they could better hide the cost of the battery but as battery prices get cheaper and the Europeans get hold of cheaper LFP then smaller EVs become viable and that pushes the price down. But even higher up the the cheapest iX3 eg is the same price as the cheapest petrol X3.

[SWoll]

The average price comparison tells us little as EV manufacturers have so far only targeted specific sectors

Comparing like for like as near as possible from the same manufacturer will tell you how close to parity we are. As an example

BMW X3 2.0 M Sport Pro (208hp) - £60k

BMW iX3 40 M Sport Pro (320hp) - £57k

[Freakuk]

Tracklover said:

If you factor in environmental "cost" as well, EVs are clearly cheaper.

So you're ignoring the mining of lithium/cobalt etc which takes millions of gallons of water and fires loads of pollutants into the atmosphere, the raw materials then need to be shipped 1/2 way around the world to be processes - again more pollution, likely shipped again to the facility that manufactures the battery and then finally shipped to the manufacturer to be installed into the chassis.

Didn't Volvo do a study regarding this and it was something crazy like you could do 60K miles in an ICE vehicle before it broke even from an environmental perspective over an EV just being produced.

[RotorRambler]

Freakuk said:

Tracklover said:

If you factor in environmental "cost" as well, EVs are clearly cheaper.

So you're ignoring the mining of lithium/cobalt etc which takes millions of gallons of water and fires loads of pollutants into the atmosphere, the raw materials then need to be shipped 1/2 way around the world to be processes - again more pollution, likely shipped again to the facility that manufactures the battery and then finally shipped to the manufacturer to be installed into the chassis.

Didn't Volvo do a study regarding this and it was something crazy like you could do 60K miles in an ICE vehicle before it broke even from an environmental perspective over an EV just being produced.

“The overall scientific consensus today is that, despite higher manufacturing emissions, EVs generally end up with a lower lifetime carbon footprint than comparable petrol or diesel vehicles, especially in countries such as United Kingdom where electricity generation is relatively low-carbon”

[Tracklover]

Freakuk said:

So you're ignoring the mining of lithium/cobalt etc which takes millions of gallons of water and fires loads of pollutants into the atmosphere, the raw materials then need to be shipped 1/2 way around the world to be processes - again more pollution, likely shipped again to the facility that manufactures the battery and then finally shipped to the manufacturer to be installed into the chassis.

Didn't Volvo do a study regarding this and it was something crazy like you could do 60K miles in an ICE vehicle before it broke even from an environmental perspective over an EV just being produced.

"Fires"? Fires which are far, far more common in ICE vehicles? (Source - LFB)

Like the Luton Airport car park fire.



And yes, EVs are far better than ICE for the enviroment, even factoring in battery production. Even if the grid is powered by fossil fuels.

Stop spreading misinformation.

[SWoll]

Tracklover said:

If you factor in environmental "cost" as well, EVs are clearly cheaper.

Not relevant to the topic being discussed.

[TikTak]

Been saying this in the "debate" threads for ages. They have to get here eventually because one of the biggest blockers for mass adoption at the moment is the 2nd hand market.

Everything available for the average 2nd hand car price is crap and the choice limited at best. If the ordinary yokel can't get one for a reasonable cost, with the perceived issues, there's not a chance at a higher price.

Problems are that while they are depreciating at a slightly higher rate than equivalent ICE they seem to retain a higher lowest value and that's actually hauled the cheap runabout price upwards a little.

[Murph7355]

SWoll said:

The average price comparison tells us little as EV manufacturers have so far only targeted specific sectors

Comparing like for like as near as possible from the same manufacturer will tell you how close to parity we are. As an example

BMW X3 2.0 M Sport Pro (208hp) - £60k

BMW iX3 40 M Sport Pro (320hp) - £57k

Totally agree.

Also, how is that average calculated?

Govt incentives have skewed things somewhat, with manufacturers able to shuffle up list prices (though this is something they have been doing for some time IMO on ICE...).

I also think some manufacturers have been pricing in efficiency savings for buyers and trying to grab a piece...just as I'm pretty sure the public charge stations have been doing (electricity prices aren't far off par with fossil fuel prices, which is ridiculous).

We're now starting to see manufacturers bring out more day to day cars. So all the "1000bhp" bullst will simmer down, less battery will be applied, cheaper battery prices etc etc and a market less able to stomach "another £20k" will mean that average price will lower quickly.

The next thing they will all need to look at are servicing costs. There is no way it should cost anywhere near ICE levels to service an EV. I suspect over a bit more time that business model will therefore change too.

All that said I often find myself wondering how on Earth a manufacturer can make a car for £14,765...look at all the componentry and resources that need to be sunk into something the size of a car (Dacia Sandero) in this case. Seems a bit bonkers.

[plfrench]

SWoll said:

The average price comparison tells us little as EV manufacturers have so far only targeted specific sectors

Comparing like for like as near as possible from the same manufacturer will tell you how close to parity we are. As an example

BMW X3 2.0 M Sport Pro (208hp) - £60k

BMW iX3 40 M Sport Pro (320hp) - £57k

Arguably, you would want an X3 50 to be more comparable on on performance too, so the EV is way beyond parity to the point of being a bit of a bargain.

I think the new i3 will demonstrate this point even more clearly - I really suspect they’ll not sell the base petrol models for long even if they bother to offer them in the UK at all. For the type of people looking to buy a new 3 series, it just won’t stack up to go for anything other than the EV. I think it will be 30e hybrid and 40i petrol entry, with the EV perhaps going down to a 20 to be the entry level model to the whole i3 / 3 series offer.

[FiF]

Obviously list prices versus actual individual sales price is one thing.

Stellantis with their VX pricing (is Opel the same?) have attempted to simplify things.

Eg Astra pricing. If you want one with a particular level of spec it's one price. Same price for EV, PHEV, ICE.

Prefer the estate? Same price as the hatch, also for each engine option.

Looking at used prices is difficult as there are, so far, too few of each spec level to get a reliable comparison. Maybe the ICE are holding up values a little better which is surprising as there are many more of those on AT vs EV vs PHEV. Someone with more patience than I might be interested in surveying.

[Sheepshanks]

Murph7355 said:

The next thing they will all need to look at are servicing costs. There is no way it should cost anywhere near ICE levels to service an EV.

I agree and it drives me mad, but the other side of it is dealers make a lot of money from servicing - many would be completely stuffed if that goes away (or gets reduced significantly).

[Murph7355]

Sheepshanks said:

Murph7355 said:

The next thing they will all need to look at are servicing costs. There is no way it should cost anywhere near ICE levels to service an EV.

I agree and it drives me mad, but the other side of it is dealers make a lot of money from servicing - many would be completely stuffed if that goes away (or gets reduced significantly).

Tough bananas really. They'll therefore need to scale back operations. Everyone has to adapt and if you make customers feel like they're being humped all the time, they'll go elsewhere/stop buying product that "needs" those services.

If there are economies of scale at play, where servicing literally has a base cost then that's fair enough

My experience here is probably...jaundiced... a little due to what I drive...but I have no need for huge glass edifices with bikes and t-shirts on display and 5 staff milling around or surfing the 'net doing fk all - stick all that st on the price of the new cars if they feel it's needed.

Manufacturers have to get out of the old school ways as much as their market does. With battery costs falling rapidly, and to take Vauxhall's model noted above, does it really cost the same to make an EV versus an ICE car (with all the complexities of the drivetrain that are involved)? If not, then that pricing model is flawed and they risk getting absolutely steamrollered by new entrants who "get" this.

FWIW I do think cars should be looked at properly by someone who knows their onions at least once every 2yrs. And with the state of our roads, 20k miles seems plenty between getting things like suspension, brakes etc checked. But some of the rubbish that gets put on service schedules should be entirely unnecessary.

[malaccamax]

Sheepshanks said:

Murph7355 said:

The next thing they will all need to look at are servicing costs. There is no way it should cost anywhere near ICE levels to service an EV.

I agree and it drives me mad, but the other side of it is dealers make a lot of money from servicing - many would be completely stuffed if that goes away (or gets reduced significantly).

Yeah take a look at balance sheets and it's insane the profit margins on service, over 70% vs around 7% selling new cars. The big dealer groups are going to fight to keep ICE and already you see lobbying from some of them to water down the zev mandate, most notably Vertu

[ATG]

SWoll said:

Tracklover said:

If you factor in environmental "cost" as well, EVs are clearly cheaper.

Not relevant to the topic being discussed.

It's entirely relevant.

You can expect environmental impact to get more and more deeply priced in to manufacturing and running costs in the future. It always makes sense to try to get "externalities' crystallised into actual prices so that costs fall on the right people's shoulders and true costs are transparent to everyone in the economy.

[SDK]

Freakuk said:

Tracklover said:

If you factor in environmental "cost" as well, EVs are clearly cheaper.

So you're ignoring the mining of lithium/cobalt etc which takes millions of gallons of water and fires loads of pollutants into the atmosphere, the raw materials then need to be shipped 1/2 way around the world to be processes - again more pollution, likely shipped again to the facility that manufactures the battery and then finally shipped to the manufacturer to be installed into the chassis.

Didn't Volvo do a study regarding this and it was something crazy like you could do 60K miles in an ICE vehicle before it broke even from an environmental perspective over an EV just being produced.

Yes, that happens for EV's, once per car.
Now look up the process to get the fuel to ICE cars.....continually for the life of the car

The Volvo report is 5 years old now, improvements to making EV's and cleaner grids mean it's a long way out-of-date now. It was a snapshot in time in 2021. Lets not be using that forever into the future !

The BMW report for the 2026 BMW iX3 50 EV shows a break even of around 12k miles

Edited by SDK on Wednesday 24th June 11:20

[Sheepshanks]

malaccamax said:

Yeah take a look at balance sheets and it's insane the profit margins on service, over 70% vs around 7% selling new cars. The big dealer groups are going to fight to keep ICE and already you see lobbying from some of them to water down the zev mandate, most notably Vertu

Not so much that, but they’re added service jobs as part of EV service packages to beef up the content - like VW Group including a brake fluid change when it’s never been included on their ICE vehicles.