Our calculation tool makes the difference clear

With our EV Energy Cost Calculator, we aim to highlight what traditional TCO calculations sometimes fail to show.

EV Energy Cost Calculator

Not: How much does my car cost to buy?
But: How much does it cost me each month to drive it?

Once the car is parked outside, the way you charge it makes a huge difference. If you charge at home, at work or at the right times, you can significantly and substantially reduce your energy costs per kilometre. What’s more, these savings have a clear social impact.

Fuel costs place a relatively heavy burden on the budget of someone on a low income. It is therefore precisely this group that stands to gain the most from lower energy costs — provided that an electric car is within their reach and affordable charging is available. And that is precisely where the challenge lies today.

The good news is that the range of vehicles on offer is changing rapidly. More and more affordable electric models are now available, both among new cars and on the second-hand market. Fortunately, price parity between most models has been achieved since early 2026. And with the continued fall in battery prices, this will lead to a further reduction in the price of new models; moreover, the influx of electric company cars will only serve to expand the second-hand market in the coming years.

So the question is no longer simply whether affordable electric cars exist, but how we can ensure that lower-income families also have access to them — and can subsequently benefit from the lower running costs.

Dutch research confirms the pattern

Recent research by TNO and Utrecht University, published in ESB, brings this into sharp focus. On average, low-income households in the Netherlands spend around twice as much of their income on fuel as high-income households. For low-income earners who have to drive many kilometres for work, this proportion can rise to 17.6 per cent, and for those who drive the most, it can even reach around 30 per cent of their income.

At the same time, a general reduction in fuel excise duties appears to be particularly poorly targeted. Of the approximately 1.7 billion euros that the Netherlands spends annually on lower fuel excise duties, the researchers found that barely 7 per cent reaches the lowest income group. The Dutch example also shows that cheap petrol sounds socially beneficial, but is a particularly expensive tool for solving social problems. Moreover, it does nothing to address the structural vulnerability to future price shocks.

France is trying a different approach

France, for its part, has opted for a different approach and introduced social leasing: families on low incomes who rely on a car for work are given access to an electric car for a significantly reduced monthly fee.

There was a great deal of interest in the programme, and France has decided to press ahead with it. Does this mean that Belgium should copy the French system tomorrow? Certainly not.

Social leasing also has its limitations. It does not necessarily reach those on the very lowest incomes; financing remains a challenge; and those who cannot charge their vehicles at home must have access to affordable public charging infrastructure. But the French are asking the right question: How can we ensure that the lower running costs of electric mobility are also accessible to people who find it harder to afford the initial investment? We must dare to ask that question in Belgium too.

The second-hand market could become even more important

And we don’t need to focus exclusively on new cars to achieve this – quite the contrary. The rapid electrification of our commercial vehicle market means that already today, and increasingly in the years to come, electric vehicles are entering the second-hand market. That represents a huge opportunity.

An affordable second-hand electric car that enables a family to save money on their energy bills every month may ultimately be of far greater social benefit than a one-off purchase subsidy for a new car. A healthy second-hand market, transparency regarding battery health, accessible financing and affordable public charging facilities are therefore at least as important as new models becoming ever cheaper.

Waiting isn’t necessarily better

Another argument often put forward is that it is better for the environment simply to ‘run an existing petrol car right down to the end’. New research from the University of California significantly qualifies that view.

Researchers Elliott Campbell and Roland Geyer analysed hundreds of petrol and electric models across their entire life cycle. Even when taking into account the manufacturing emissions of a new electric car and its battery, switching to electric earlier proves to be more climate-friendly in 92 per cent of the scenarios examined.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we should send all existing cars to the scrapyard tomorrow. But it does debunk the idea that, from a sustainability perspective, it is by definition better to delay the switch for as long as possible.

What’s more, cheap oil does not make us any more independent

There is another argument that is hitting Europe particularly hard once again today. The vast majority of our oil comes from outside Europe. Conflicts and tensions surrounding, amongst other things, the Strait of Hormuz therefore translate directly into uncertainty on the international oil market and, ultimately, into the price we pay at the pump.

A reduction in excise duty does not fundamentally change this situation. The government is temporarily covering part of the cost, but the dependency remains. Green electricity, on the other hand, can increasingly be generated within Europe itself, using sources such as wind, solar, hydro and nuclear power.  Every kilometre we electrify therefore not only reduces emissions, but also our exposure to an international and polluting oil market over which Europe has little control.

Don’t subsidise the fuel

That does not mean that families who currently have no alternative should be left to their own devices when energy prices suddenly skyrocket. Temporary support may be necessary in exceptional circumstances. But subsidising petrol and diesel to keep them structurally cheaper is not a forward-looking social policy. If we are going to use public funds, we would do better to consider how we can help people break free from that dependence.

Through affordable new electric cars, a strong second-hand EV market and accessible financing. Perhaps through forms of social leasing. 

For EV Belgium, not every tool has to work for everyone. But the direction must be clear.

Those with the least financial leeway often find it harder today to afford the technology that could save them money every month in the long run. That is precisely why we must ensure that affordable electric mobility — both new and second-hand — becomes accessible to more and more people.

And that is precisely why we at EV Belgium have developed our EV Energy Cost Calculator. So that the debate isn’t just about purchase prices, tax benefits or theoretical TCO calculations, but to show how choosing to drive an electric vehicle can actually affect everyone’s monthly budget.

After all, the best way to protect yourself financially against the high cost of a litre of petrol isn’t a permanent subsidy on that litre. Work out the figures for yourself using EV Belgium’s EV Energy Calculator and find out what driving an electric vehicle could mean for your monthly energy and fuel costs.

Ultimately, the best social protection against the high cost of a litre of petrol is not a permanent subsidy on that litre. It is ensuring that fewer and fewer people need it.

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Sources and further reading

1. EV Belgium — EV Energie-Rekeningtool:
   https://ev.be/nl/ev-energie-rekeningtool
2. Transport & Environment. (2026, March 11). Electric car average price falls by €1,800 as carmakers release affordable models to meet EU target: Analysis. https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/electric-car-average-price-falls-by-eur1-800-as-carmakers-release-affordable-models-to-meet-eu-target-analysis 
3. Mulder, P., Van Tilburg, R. & Sterkenburg, R. (2026), “Lease-subsidie elektrische auto pakt vervoersarmoede gericht aan”, ESB:
   https://esb.nu/lease-subsidie-elektrische-auto-pakt-vervoersarmoede-gericht-aan/
4. University of California, Santa Barbara (2026), over het onderzoek van Elliott Campbell en Roland Geyer naar het optimale moment om een benzinewagen door een EV te vervangen:
   https://news.ucsb.edu/2026/022737/thinking-about-trading-your-car-ev-theres-compelling-new-reason-do-it-now
   Onderliggende publicatie in Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.adv5441.
5. Europese Commissie (2026), Research for Just Transition Policy Workshop II — “Social leasing schemes of electric cars: lessons from the French case two years on”, Arnaud Koehl, Ministère de la Transition écologique:
   https://employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/news/workshop-fair-climate-policies-highlights-carbon-pricing-and-solutions-2026-04-20_en