Electric cars ‘will be cheaper to produce than fossil fuel vehicles by 2027’

BloombergNEF forecasts result of falling cost of making batteries as well as dedicated production lines

Joanna Partridge
Sun 9 May 2021 21.00 BST

Electric cars and vans will be cheaper to produce than conventional, fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2027, and tighter emissions regulations could put them in pole position to dominate all new car sales by the middle of the next decade, research has found.

By 2026, larger vehicles such as electric sedans and SUVs will be as cheap to produce as petrol and diesel models, according to forecasts from BloombergNEF, with small cars reaching the threshold the following year.

Electric vehicles reaching price parity with the internal combustion engine is seen as a key milestone in the world’s transition from burning fossil fuels.

The falling cost of producing batteries for electric vehicles, combined with dedicated production lines in carmarkers’ plants, will make them cheaper to buy, on average, within the next six years than conventional cars, even before any government subsidies, BloombergNEF found.

The current average pre-tax retail price of a medium-sized electric car is €33,300 (£28,914), compared with €18,600 for a petrol car, according to the research. In 2026, both are forecast to cost about €19,000.

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