With BIK on Electric Vehicles now 0%, Can you financially justify travelling by train?

[route:oxford]

So Benefit In Kind (BIK) on electric vehicles has been slashed to 0% for the tax year 2020/2021. Many electricity companies such as Scottish Power and Octopus are offering deals for up to 8000 miles of free electricity in a one year contract.

As NHS Staff, my employer allows me to lease a vehicle through them. I'm sure many others will be doing the same.

The deals (inclusive of tax, insurance, servicing & tyres) currently on offer to me are:-

Audi E-Tron 230Kw Quattro - £255
Vauxhall Corsa 100 Kw - £209
Mercedez-Benz EQC 300Kw AMG - £349
Hyundai Ioniq 100Kw - £165

The E-tron (A near £70,000 car) would never be in my price range normally, but here it is, a mere £35 more than my monthly rail season ticket to Edinburgh. That's before the cost of my Lothian Bus fare on top.

Even "just" the Hyundai would cut 25% off my commuting costs in the first year.

 

[The Planner]

How much does parking cost for the day?

 

[Geeves]

While cost is obviously key so would ease and length of Journey. At the moment the train wins on speed in rush hour every time in the NW.

 

[ashkeba]

And does the lease include all the servicing and consumables? That's what often causes people surprises, £400 on a battery controller or something else unexpected.

 

[route:oxford]

And does the lease include all the servicing and consumables? That's what often causes people surprises, £400 on a battery controller or something else unexpected.

It's a 2 year lease on a brand new car, so it still has full manufacturer's warranty. All the usual consumables like tyres and wipers are covered along with full servicing.

 

[ashkeba]

It's a 2 year lease on a brand new car, so it still has full manufacturer's warranty. All the usual consumables like tyres and wipers are covered along with full servicing.

I was asking about the unusual consumables like battery if used heavily. So it only covers the usual ones, not the unusual?

 

[Starmill]

Driving and servicing a modern diesel car is almost always cheaper than buying Off Peak, Anytime or Season tickets. Parking is expensive if you go to the expensive car parks, which applies everywhere.

All driving electric does is move some of the variable costs into the fixed costs. If you're driving quite a bit, you might therefore get lower total average cost.

The following are already true and electrics don't have as much of an influence as they sound like they will:

- Most people already have ready access to a car
- Most people use trains infrequently or never
- Rail is almost never competitive on price against driving for flexible journeys

Rail is only fulfilling a small portion of the transport need. The government (including the Scottish government) do not choose to fund it enough to make any real difference to that.

Rail is often competitive among those who genuinely cannot drive, who dislike driving, who are environmentally conscious or if you're travelling into London for office hours. I would say that rail can compete with people's cars on other things such as comfort too, but this is a long-forgotten idea in rolling stock specification.

 

[dgl]

Also when leasing cars look at the mileage allowance, some are surprisingly low and as such look cheap when only the leasing cost is taken inot account but when the excess mileage charges build up it's not so cheap.

 

[LOL The Irony]

a mere £35 more than my monthly rail season ticket to Edinburgh.

A yearly season ticket would be cheaper still.

Audi E-Tron 230Kw Quattro - £255
Vauxhall Corsa 100 Kw - £209
Mercedez-Benz EQC 300Kw AMG - £349
Hyundai Ioniq 100Kw - £165

The Audi is £1.11 a Kwh, the Corsa is £2.09 a Kwh, the Merc is £1.16 a Kwh and the Hyundai is £1.65 a Kwh. You need to weigh up how far you can go in the car you choose, as well as how much value it has over your train/bus ticket combo.

 

[Alfonso]

A yearly season ticket would be cheaper still.



The Audi is £1.11 a Kwh, the Corsa is £2.09 a Kwh, the Merc is £1.16 a Kwh and the Hyundai is £1.65 a Kwh. You need to weigh up how far you can go in the car you choose, as well as how much value it has over your train/bus ticket combo.

I think you're getting kW and kWh mixed up

 

[LOL The Irony]

I think you're getting kW and kWh mixed up

Ah so the OP was talking about the power output.

 

[Harpers Tate]

I was asking about the unusual consumables like battery if used heavily.

I can't speak for other marques but my Hyundai EV has a 7-year 125000 mile warranty on the traction battery - so IF it's a "consumable" (and I wouldn't consider it so, any more than, say, the turbocharger in a modern ICE), it's effectively covered.

 

[urpert]

I can't speak for other marques but my Hyundai EV has a 7-year 125000 mile warranty on the traction battery - so IF it's a "consumable" (and I wouldn't consider it so, any more than, say, the turbocharger in a modern ICE), it's effectively covered.

8 years/100,000 miles for my i3 so similar situation. It's a non-argument in this context.

 

[ainsworth74]

I was asking about the unusual consumables like battery if used heavily. So it only covers the usual ones, not the unusual?

If I got a new electric car and the battery failed within two years I'd be expecting to claim under the warranty and if not I'd be taking action to recover my costs from the company! I don't think anyone could argue that a battery failing within two years in an electric car is anything other than a fault which occurred during manufacture (unless you were doing some extraordinarily heavy driving e.g. multiple hundreds of thousands of miles).

 

[talltim]

So Benefit In Kind (BIK) on electric vehicles has been slashed to 0% for the tax year 2020/2021. Many electricity companies such as Scottish Power and Octopus are offering deals for up to 8000 miles of free electricity in a one year contract.

As NHS Staff, my employer allows me to lease a vehicle through them. I'm sure many others will be doing the same.

The deals (inclusive of tax, insurance, servicing & tyres) currently on offer to me are:-

Audi E-Tron 230Kw Quattro - £255
Vauxhall Corsa 100 Kw - £209
Mercedez-Benz EQC 300Kw AMG - £349
Hyundai Ioniq 100Kw - £165

The E-tron (A near £70,000 car) would never be in my price range normally, but here it is, a mere £35 more than my monthly rail season ticket to Edinburgh. That's before the cost of my Lothian Bus fare on top.

Even "just" the Hyundai would cut 25% off my commuting costs in the first year.

Those figues are between 1 1/2 - 3 times my season ticket price, without insurance/parking/consumables etc. Plus just because a car is electric doesn't mean it doesn't contribute to congestion. An electric car on the road instead of going by train means that the ICE cars on the road are producing more polution.

 

[edwin_m]

Some NHS involve visiting multiple places during the day, such as patients' homes, often with equipment. These can't practically be done by public transport and an EV is most likely the least damaging option. But if the NHS is subsidizing commuting by car into a city centre, even electric, then there's something very wrong.

For people whose jobs allow them to work on the train, the cost saving from of using the time productively can make it financially worthwhile to take the train instead of driving.

 

[underbank]

The zero benefit in kind tax won't last forever. As soon as tax revenues drop due to people no longer using petrol/diesel cars, i.e. fuel duty, benefits in kind, road tax, etc., they'll have no choice but to replace the lost revenue with new taxes on electric cars.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The zero benefit in kind tax won't last forever. As soon as tax revenues drop due to people no longer using petrol/diesel cars, i.e. fuel duty, benefits in kind, road tax, etc., they'll have no choice but to replace the lost revenue with new taxes on electric cars.

Precisely. You might as well make hay while the sun is shining (provided the travel is essential), but anyone who thinks road pricing isn't coming within 10 years is living with their head firmly in a bucket of sand.

 

[cactustwirly]

Precisely. You might as well make hay while the sun is shining (provided the travel is essential), but anyone who thinks road pricing isn't coming within 10 years is living with their head firmly in a bucket of sand.

No, I think the people who are expecting road pricing, are living in cloud cuckoo land!!

A lot of people depend on the car, and it has by far the highest modal share of any transport mode, there's a reason for that.
Public transport is very inconvenient for end to end journeys, unless you live and work next to a train station, or journeys to the supermarket etc.

I'm a member of a car enthusiasts forum, and surprisingly they are generally supportive of trains, and would use them more often, if they were cheaper and more convenient.
Same goes for buses, but they are much worse than trains in pretty much every way.

 

[Meerkat]

If I got a new electric car and the battery failed within two years I'd be expecting to claim under the warranty and if not I'd be taking action to recover my costs from the company! I don't think anyone could argue that a battery failing within two years in an electric car is anything other than a fault which occurred during manufacture (unless you were doing some extraordinarily heavy driving e.g. multiple hundreds of thousands of miles).

I would be less worried about outright failure than by degradation.
if it degrades to an annoying level are they going to replace it or will they claim misuse, hard use, etc etc

 

[robk23oxf]

Manufacturers are aware that the cost of battery replacement is a concern of potential owners which is why many offer battery guarantees. Renault for example lease the battery for an additional charge, if the battery is defective it's on them to replace it at no cost to the vehicle owner. Not an ideal solution but comforting knowing that there won't be a sudden bill running into thousands of pounds somewhere down the line.

We're being sold the idea that buying an electric car is great for the environment but it doesn't solve the problem of crippling congestion so public transport will still have a role to play. Public transport will need to change to ensure it becomes the first choice for travel rather than just telling people to stop driving cars.

 

[Bald Rick]

No, I think the people who are expecting road pricing, are living in cloud cuckoo land!!

A lot of people depend on the car, and it has by far the highest modal share of any transport mode, there's a reason for that.
Public transport is very inconvenient for end to end journeys, unless you live and work next to a train station, or journeys to the supermarket etc.

I'm a member of a car enthusiasts forum, and surprisingly they are generally supportive of trains, and would use them more often, if they were cheaper and more convenient.
Same goes for buses, but they are much worse than trains in pretty much every way.

Road pricing is here already, in very crude* form, it’s called fuel duty.

To replace fuel duty there will need to be another form of road pricing. This will be with us, in some form, in the next decade or so. Government are investigating it now.

*pun entirely intended.

 

[Meerkat]

Road pricing is here already, in very crude* form, it’s called fuel duty.

To replace fuel duty there will need to be another form of road pricing. This will be with us, in some form, in the next decade or so. Government are investigating it now.

*pun entirely intended.

I disagree, but we have been down this path!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I disagree, but we have been down this path!

So how will the huge income from fuel duty be replaced once everyone's electric?

 

[Meerkat]

So how will the huge income from fuel duty be replaced once everyone's electric?

Car tax, parking tax, electric tax, at most involved a basic mileage tax.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Car tax, parking tax, electric tax, at most involved a basic mileage tax.

How do you propose taxing electricity to the extent that fuel is presently taxed without making it impossible to e.g. heat some homes at an affordable price?

A mileage tax would be an option, but that's a form of road pricing, just a basic one.

 

[Bald Rick]

Car tax, parking tax, electric tax, at most involved a basic mileage tax.

All of which are other forms of road pricing, in some form.

 

[cactustwirly]

So how will the huge income from fuel duty be replaced once everyone's electric?

That's a long way off.
ELectric cars are expensive to buy, don't have very good ranges, and the build quality of a Tesla is quite poor.
Not everyone want's to be driving around a Nissan hatchback either.

 

[cactustwirly]

So how will the huge income from fuel duty be replaced once everyone's electric?

By increasing the VED

 

[cactustwirly]

How do you propose taxing electricity to the extent that fuel is presently taxed without making it impossible to e.g. heat some homes at an affordable price?

A mileage tax would be an option, but that's a form of road pricing, just a basic one.

Electricity is already taxed...
And if you heat your home with gas affordably, not electricity!