Oil price hike gives EVs biggest-ever cost advantage over petrol, diesel cars – analysis

The rapid increase in fossil fuel prices in Germany and many other countries due to the war against Iran has pushed the cost advantage of driving electric vehicles (EVs) over combustion engine cars to a record high, price comparison website Verivox has found. Charging a medium- or upper-class EV at home cost about 67 percent less than filling a petrol car and 53 percent less than a diesel car in March 2026, according to Verivox.

With an average household power price of 31.24 cents per kilowatt-hour (ct/kWh) and an average consumption of 16.9 kWh/100km for EVs in the segment, the electricity needed for driving 1,000 kilometres cost about 53 euros in the month after Israel and the US launched the war against Iran. Driving the same distance in a petrol-fuelled car from the segment cost about 160 euros and 113 euros in a diesel-powered car, the analysis showed. While diesel prices rose even more than petrol in the past weeks, much less of the fuel is needed to cover the same distance. EVs were already cheaper to run in Germany even before the crisis.

“The large difference in running costs is likely to grow even further in April 2026. Fuel prices have continued to increase more strongly this month, whereas electricity prices are likely to rise in the same way only if the conflict in the Middle East drags on,” said Verivox energy expert Thorsten Storck. 

Iran had retaliated after the start of the war by damaging parts of the fossil fuel infrastructure of US-allied countries in the Persian Gulf and blocking the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, a bottleneck for global fossil fuel trade. This has caused fuel prices to rise across the globe. The German government has sought to relieve motorists with tax cuts for fossil fuels. 

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said taxes for diesel and petrol will be reduced for two months, a measure criticised for failing to help those truly in need and providing little incentive to cut fossil fuel use. Meanwhile, interest in purchasing EVs has surged in Germany and other countries since the beginning of the Iran war. 

Verivox said, however, that home charging was the only way motorists could fully exploit the cost advantage of electric cars. At home, users paid the household price of 31.24 ct/kWh, whereas public charging points on average charged 52 ct/kWh and fast-charging points even 60 ct/kWh, making public fast charging almost twice as expensive as home charging. Even the relatively expensive fast-charging option was 37 percent cheaper than petrol in March.