The cost of owning an electric car will take at least 15-20 years to approach that of a conventional car, the latest report from the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) suggests.

Prepared in collaboration with Element Energy, it explores how the total cost of owning a car can be expected by change by 2030, as more low carbon and alternative fuel vehicles become available. Such cars have higher purchase costs compared to their combustion counterparts but benefit from lower running costs.

The difference in the total cost of ownership between conventional and ultra-low carbon family cars currently stands at around £5,000 per annum at present, but the research suggests this will fall to around  £500 – £750 per annum by 2030.

This fall in ownership costs will be driven by the cost of batteries and fuel cells, which are projected to fall in price over the coming decade as volumes increase.

With big improvements in the fuel efficiency of conventional cars annual petrol costs are anticipated to also fall, despite oil price rises. The net result is that by 2025 a tax break of £1-2k per annum will be sufficient to equalise the cost of owning most electric or hydrogen cars.

LowCVP Managing Director Greg Archer said: “Drivers will need to embrace ultra-low carbon technologies like electric and hydrogen vehicles as one of the measures to avoid dangerous climate change. But for many drivers to switch these cars must be both appealing and no more expensive to own. This study indicates that the cost of electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will fall substantially and with modest tax and other incentives could be as cheap to own as conventional cars within the next 15-20 years.”

LowCVP also project that by 2030, a typical family car, or larger hybrid, will achieve around 100mpg by 2030. As a result typical annual fuel costs are
anticipated to fall by around £500 per year and insurance costs become an even
greater element of the total cost of ownership.

The cost of owning a conventional family car for 4 years is estimated to rise slowly
from around £22.5k in 2010 to £24k in 2020 and £25k in 2030.

Andrew Adonis, making his first public speech since his promotion to Secretary of State for Transport, told delegates at the LowCVP Conference that climate change is an issue which defines this age. He said that “for the automotive industry this is both a challenge and an opportunity. A challenge, obviously, because it means change”. Lord Adonis and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, made the keynote speeches at the Conference which was attended by 200 delegates and which was held alongside the What Car? Green Awards and the Revolve London to Brighton Eco-Rally.

In his introduction, Andrew Adonis said: “Low carbon transportation is a key element in modernising for the future, so it is entirely fitting that this should be my first speech as Secretary of State. I’m delighted that the speech is to the LowCVP, which has been a leader in the debate on low carbon transport and has a much bigger role to play for the future”.

Professor Kevin Anderson, Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, opened the conference with a presentation on the latest climate science. He said that emissions reductions on the scale implied by the science have never been achieved before, even when associated with severe economic recession or upheaval. To avoid the risk of dangerous climate change (ensuring average global temperatures rise no more than two degrees celsius) will require radical policy action to achieve emissions reductions that are unprecedented.

Professor Anderson’s presentation and those of other speakers – including Charles Stonehill of Better Place, David Ward of the FIA Foundation, Hugo Spowers of River Simple and Darran Messem of Shell – at the LowCVP conference are available on the ‘LowCVP Conference 2009′ resources page on the website (see associated link). A short video of the conference highlights is now accessible here, as is an unedited video of the speech by the LowCVP Chair, Professor Neville Jackson.

There are also links from here to the conference speech by Lord Adonis and press releases issued by the LowCVP and the Greater London Authority.

Feedback following the conference has been very positive. 98% of respondents said that they considered the event to be ‘very good’ or ‘good’. 70% said that they thought the conference was good or very good value for money.

Full details about the conference, including more comprehensive feedback are available from the LowCVP Secretariat.

The winners of the prize draws were Liz Gray of WhizzGo (Conference feedback survey) and Chris Green of Entec UK Ltd (Stakeholder survey).

The leading automotive PR agency, Automotive PR is the first communications agency to be approved for membership to the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP).

The LowCVP is the leading action and advisory group working to accelerate the shift to low carbon or ‘green’ vehicles and fuels in the UK and to assist businesses in maximising the opportunities that this shift produces.

Automotive PR who operate in Europe, North America, China and other global markets, is now the only communications consultancy to have joined the LowCVP, which has more than 300 member organisations with a stake in the low carbon vehicles and fuel agenda – including those from the automotive and fuel industries, the environmental sector, government, academia, road user groups.

Martin Hayes, APR’s Executive Chairman, said: “Low carbon vehicles are fundamental to the future of the automotive industry that we serve and along with the associated technologies, are central to our business activities – not treated separately in a niche operation.”

“Automotive PR is the foremost provider of PR services for low carbon vehicles and technology, with experience across a broad range of sectors, including launching the ground-breaking electric Tesla sportscar in Europe, Britain’s first practical all-electric bus from Optare, and hybrid trucks from DAF.”

Greg Archer, Director of the LowCVP, commented: “The shift to low carbon vehicles and fuels is accelerating in all major markets, as the industry responds to the challenge of climate change. In the past 18-months LowCVP has witnessed a new focus on promoting efficient, low carbon vehicles and green messages in marketing and public relations. It is important for these businesses to ensure their messages are clear, claims reasonable and that they maximize the impact of their communications. We are pleased Automotive PR has joined to support our work on developing improved communications tools to encourage the shift to low carbon vehicles.”

Automotive PR also works with many Tier 1 suppliers, who are collaborating with manufacturers to produce the next generation materials and technologies for low carbon vehicles.

A number of Automotive PR’s clients are already members of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, including Capoco Design, Cummins and General Motors.

Most recently, Automotive PR has been appointed as the global automotive consultancy for Valence Technology, the world’s leading provider of lithium phosphate batteries for vehicle propulsion.

The LowCVP is offering an ‘open mic’ opportunity for members and others to speak about issues of interest, concern or opportunity at the Partnership’s annual conference at City Hall, London on June 8th. The ‘open mic’ slots are intended to bring fresh ideas and proposals to the table.

‘Open mic’ slots – available for 5 minutes per person - will take place in the restaurant area towards the end of the lunch interval.

The talks may be policy-focused or advocate new or original technical solutions to enhance low carbon road transport. They may also focus on strategies to promote behavioural change. The talks should be constructive rather than critical or, at least, have strong constructive elements. Speakers will be encouraged not to use Powerpoint or other visual aids because of the limited time available.

Proposals for the ‘open mic’ slots will be considered by a representative panel of LowCVP stakeholders in mid-May.

Anyone interested in speaking in one of this session should write a brief proposal (200 words) describing what they would speak about. The proposal should be sent to the LowCVP by email: secretariat@lowcvp.org.uk . Proposal submissions will be acknowledged by email and applicants will be contacted again in mid-May.

Any questions about the ‘open mic’ opportunities at the LowCVP Conference should also be emailed to: secretariat@lowcvp.org.uk