Cost of ownership
From Apterawiki
As with maintenance, this can be difficult to determine before the vehicle is released, and will depend strongly on what sort of vehicle it is replacing for its owner. The figures below are calculations based on a number of assumptions, and should be adjusted to your particular situation and once more precise data on operating costs for the Typ-1 becomes available.
[edit] The numbers
For these calculations, we will assume the average lifespan annual maintenance on an Aptera Typ-1e of ~$550/year, as calculated in the maintenance section. The average consumer in 2005 spent $2,013 on gasoline and motor oil plus $2,339 on other vehicle expenses (repairs, insurance, etc)[1]. Gas prices have significantly risen since then, but let's only call the total $4500 per year. In 2003, the price of electricity in the mainland United States ranged from $0.0581/kWh in Tennessee to $0.14314/kWh in New York. We'll go with the expensive California price at $0.12kWh, and to be pessimstic, we'll say it's inflated to $0.15/kWh since then.[2] Insurance is very hard to estimate; the purchase price ($26,900) is higher than average, which raises the price of comprehensive coverage, as may the low volume production or composite construction (hard to say), but the light weight and motorcycle classification should reduce the cost of liability coverage. We'll say $1000/year, which should be a pessimistic number. We'll assume $3.50/gallon gasoline and a 30mpg gasoline car to compare to.
- At an average consumption of 80Wh/mi (more on the highway, less in town) and the average ~12,000 miles per year, the Aptera would consume 960kWh per year.
- 960kWh per year would cost $144/year.
- All combined, that's $1000/year in insurance plus $150/year in electricity and $550 a year in maintenance -- $1700 per year.
- All combined, the gasoline car, as stated, costs $4,500 per year; this means an annual savings of $2,800
- Assuming an inflation rate of 3% (i.e., the amount you save each year will increase in nominal dollars as time goes on), and complete depreciation (no value after purchase), that's a payback period of 8.5 years.
While the payback period of 8.5 years may seem long, assuming the car stays in service for 20 years, that's a 20 year IRR (Internal Rate of Return) of 11.44%, which is generally seen as a great investment. That is, to say, it's equivalent to putting money in a bank account that paid you 11.44% interest on it per year for 20 years. A 6.5% loan for such a vehicle whose payments were matched by the amount saved each year would have a term of 11.6 years, and after that, the savings would be pure profit -- again, a good number.
Even if you don't keep the Aptera that long, the inherent value of the vehicle -- providing low-cost travel in a market flooded with guzzlers where even old Geo Metros are selling for more than their original purchase price due to their efficiency -- means minimal depreciation (if any). The vehicle still retains its operations-cost advantage, so as long as it's on the market, someone will be profiting from it, and as long as it has that potential, it has value. Quite the opposite of the complete depreciation assumption, really.
Note that what we're discussing here is replacing an already paid off 30mpg car that returns no money in resale with a brand new, eco-friendly car with almost luxury features. New cars generally don't turn a profit, but this case appears to be an exception for the average person. If you drive more than average, or are replacing a lower mileage car (or get any money back from the sale), the choice becomes even easier. And if it's a choice between the Aptera and a different new car -- say, one that costs half as much ($13,490) -- why, that's a no brainer; keeping the assumptions above, that's a payback period of 4.5 years, a mortgage length of 5.3 years, and a 20 year IRR of 23.33%.
Note that this discounts the effects of taxes and deductions (assuming that they'll roughly cancel out).
