As an EV owner, I can say that the maintenance cost savings are being hyped up, at least if you buy a new car every 5 years. About 70% of the expenses I had for my recently sold ICE car are relevant for EVs, too: Yearly inspection (yes it’s cheaper with the EV, but still necessary for most brands; pollen filters need changing and AC needs cleaning), new brakes because they were rusty (a problem even worse for EVs), new tires and seasonal tire rotation, new 12V battery (every EV has one too), new wipers, and cleaning. You’ll probably spend a bit less time at the mechanic with an EV, but the difference won’t be that big.

If you keep your car for longer, an EV will require less expenses for moving parts, but it might offset this by requiring a new battery after 8-12 years (right now, batteries retail for $12k and more, let’s hope this goes down soon).

Given that, fuel savings are really great. With my old ICE car a round trip to the big city cost €10, while with my Ioniq it’s only €3 in summer, when charged at home (even though we pay €0.20/kWh). Maybe €4.50 in winter. So on average we’re looking at something like 60% savings in fuel costs even with our expensive middle european electricity plans.