Comparing the Cost per Mile of Electric Vehicles and Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles in Ghana
Godwin Kafui Ayetor, Denis E.K. Dzebre, Lena D. Mensah, Samuel Boahen, Kofi Owura Amoabeng, Godwin F.K. Tay
Abstract
Reducing ambient air pollution could potentially prevent 1790 deaths a year in Accra alone. Vehicular emissions are a major source of air pollution, especially (PM) 2.5 , and a transition to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is considered a solution to this. This paper estimates the cost per mile of electric vehicles compared with internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) based on the retail price, fuel/energy, depreciation, maintenance, insurance, taxes, and charging infrastructure in Ghana for 10 years. The 10-year costs per mile of the BEV are less than those of the ICEV by 9.4%–24%. The advantage is only after the seventh year, while before this the BEVs were more expensive to own. Total import tax contributes up to 20% of the BEV cost per mile. It costs 83% less to charge a BEV for a mile compared to fueling an ICEV. A significant rise in electricity tariffs is very likely to negatively affect the transition to e-mobility. We found the electricity tariff to be the most sensitive to the cost per mile of the BEV because, for every US$1 price increase in the cost per kWh, the cost per mile of the BEV increased by US$ 0.315. The results also showed that a transition to e-mobility could reduce CO 2 emissions from transportation by 72%, NO x emissions by 79%, volatile organic compounds by 99%, and particulate matter by 56%. Future policy should target the removal of import tax on BEVs and their parts, especially high-voltage batteries.