What does an electric van cost compared to a diesel van?

Difference purchase price electric van vs a diesel van

We have compared the purchase price of a number of vans for you. In the overview below, you can see a comparison between an electric vans and the same van in a diesel variant.

	Electric price	Price diesel	Difference %
Renault Kangoo E-Tech Electric	€ 29.690,-	€ 17.770,-	67%
Mercedes Benz eVito	€ 46.090,-	€ 21.880,-	111%
Citroën eJumpy	€ 31.750,-	€ 26.000,-	22%
Opel Vivaro-e	€ 32.399,-	€ 20.699,-	57%

all prices are from prices and excl. vat

In this brief overview, you can already see big differences between electric and diesel van prices. A Citroën e-Jumpy is only 22% more expensive than its diesel brother. That difference can be overcome because electric vans have lower maintenance costs, for example. In the coming years, the prices of electric vans will approach those of diesel vans. The greater demand for electric vans will increase and this will be reflected in a (slightly) lower purchase price. But as you can already see in the overview, most electric vans really are still quite a bit more expensive.

What are the maintenance costs of an electric van?

Because in an electric van there are hardly any rotating parts (no internal combustion engine, no mechanical gearbox), the maintenance sensitivity is much lower. Also, there are no fluids such as gearbox or engine oil in an electric van.

Many brands also give you a hefty battery and electric motor warranty as standard. This also eliminates the chance that you will have hefty maintenance costs there for the first few years.

The tires, due to the towing power of an electric bus, may wear out a bit harder. Dealers will also have to earn some money from electric vans in the coming years. Additional services are being developed to compensate for the missed maintenance income. Think software updates or extensions to your software.

Cost per kilometre electric vans vs fuel diesel van

What is the consumption cost per kilometre?

The average fuel consumption of a van is 11 litres of diesel per 100 kilomter (about 1 in 9).
An electric van (in this example, we used a Citroën Berlingo) consumes around 26.9 kWh per 100 km in winter. In summer, this can be around 20% lower.

Charging an electric van costs around 0.32 / ct / kWh. A 100 km trip will then cost you in electricity: €8.61.
If we calculate this for a diesel van, we are at a diesel price of €1.86 / litre. Driving 100 km with a diesel van costs approximately: €20.46.

The difference is considerable.

Electric company car subsidy

There is a subsidy scheme when buying new commercial vehicles. This scheme runs until 31 December 2025. In 2022, €22 million is available. The amount of the subsidy is 10% of the net catalogue value (N1 vehicle category) or 10% of the sales price without VAT (N2 vehicle category).

A higher subsidy of 12% is available for small companies and non-profit organisations.

This subsidy applies only to electric commercial vehicles and not to diesel or petrol commercial vehicles. Thus, the subsidy already compensates for the higher purchase price to a large extent. Citroën eJumpy costs € 31,750, on which you can then get a subsidy of € 3,175. Still, the net purchase price is then higher than the diesel variant which costs € 26,000. On balance, the electric Jumpy is still € 2,000 more expensive, but that difference is quickly recouped through lower maintenance costs and costs per kilometre.

Different subsidies are still available per region. A complete overview can be found here.

Taxes electric company car

On an electric van, provided you use it as an entrepreneur, you do not pay BPM. As an entrepreneur, you can also reclaim/deduct VAT.
Until 2024, you also don't have to pay motor vehicle tax on an electric van.

Besides direct taxes, you have a number of other tax benefits.

Small-scale investment deduction (KIA)
Environmental investment deduction (MIA)
Random depreciation of environmental investments (Vamil)

Insure electric delivery vans

Basically, insuring an electric van is no more expensive than a van with an exhaust. However, the purchase price and weight is higher. As a result, your premium may still be higher.