Gas at $8.30 a gallon? A new study says EV drivers could save about $85 a month on “fuel”

When gas climbs past about $8 a gallon, it stops being a nuisance and starts blowing holes in household budgets. A new analysis from the clean-transport group Transport & Environment (T&E) puts a hard number on what many drivers already feel: electric vehicles can cushion the hit when oil prices spike.

In a typical driving scenario, about 7,500 miles a year, or roughly 620 miles a month, T&E estimates an EV driver could save up to about $85 a month on energy costs alone compared with a gas car. That’s not the sticker price, insurance, or resale value. It’s simply what it costs to move the car down the road.

The math behind the “$85 a month” EV advantage

T&E’s baseline assumes a gas car that gets about 33.6 miles per gallon (the equivalent of 7 liters per 100 kilometers) and fuel priced above €2 per liter. That European price point translates to roughly $8.30 per gallon, higher than most U.S. averages, but a level drivers in parts of California and many global cities can relate to.

At that price, the study estimates a driver covering about 620 miles a month would spend around €142 on gasoline, about$155at an approximate exchange rate of €1 = $1.09.

For the EV comparison, T&E uses consumption of 20 kWh per 100 kilometers (about 32 kWh per 100 miles). Over the same monthly distance, that’s roughly 200 kWh. Using an electricity price of €0.32 per kWh (about$0.35), the monthly charging bill comes to about €65, roughly$71.

The difference: about €77 a month, or roughly$84, an annual energy savings of about €924, or roughly$1,010.

Why gas-price spikes hurt more than electricity swings

The study’s bigger point isn’t that electricity never rises. It’s that oil shocks tend to hit drivers fast and hard. T&E describes a “crisis premium”, the extra monthly cost tied to sudden energy-price surges.

In its scenario, that premium is about €38 a month (roughly$41) for a gasoline driver, versus about €7 (roughly$8) for an EV driver. In other words, the gas car is far more exposed to volatility.

The analysis also offers a simple way to think about it: if you’re burning about 18.5 gallons a month (the equivalent of roughly 70 liters), every 10-cent jump per gallon adds nearly $2 to your monthly bill. When prices move by 30 or 40 cents quickly, the pain shows up immediately.

Charging isn’t “cheap everywhere”, but the baseline still favors EVs

T&E’s charging estimate uses an electricity price that already bakes in a potential increase, about 12%, linked to broader energy-market pressures. Even with that bump, the study still finds EV energy costs well below gasoline at the €2-per-liter threshold.

Real-world charging costs vary widely. Home charging is typically cheaper and more predictable than public fast chargers, where pricing can swing based on location, time, and network. Weather matters, too: cold temperatures and high-speed highway driving can push EV consumption above the study’s assumptions, just as winter driving can drag down gas mileage.

Still, the underlying logic holds: when oil prices surge, gas drivers feel it immediately at the pump. EV drivers are generally insulated by a lower cost per mile and, in many places, more stable electricity pricing.

Europe’s oil dependence, and why Americans should care

T&E frames this as more than a personal-finance story. The group notes the European Union imports about96%of its oil, and says gas and diesel cars in Europe consume roughly1 billion barrelsof imported oil each year, making the region highly sensitive to geopolitical shocks.

The study cites an estimated cost of about€67 billionto Europe’s economy in 2025 tied to that dependence, roughly$73 billion. For Americans, the parallel is familiar: even though the U.S. produces more oil than Europe, global crude prices still ripple through U.S. gas stations, household budgets, and inflation.

T&E France director Diane Strauss argues that electrifying the vehicle fleet can reduce exposure to future oil shocks. The group also points to projections suggesting electrification could cut global oil demand by millions of barrels per day by the end of the decade, big numbers that underscore why EV adoption has become an economic and national-security issue, not just a climate one.

Company fleets see the biggest payoff, if they can make EVs work

For businesses that rack up miles, delivery vans, service vehicles, company cars, the fuel math gets louder. T&E estimates the “crisis premium” for high-mileage fleets rises to about €89 a month (roughly$97) for internal-combustion vehicles, compared with about €16 (roughly$17) for EVs.

That gap helps explain why fleet managers increasingly view EVs as a budgeting tool, not just a branding move. But the study also flags the obvious caveat: these figures cover energy costs only. Upfront purchase price, charging access, delivery timelines, and the used-EV market can determine whether the savings are real, or out of reach.