When you sit down and do the math, electric vehicles, or EVs, tend to be more expensive than their traditional combustion engine counterparts, in the long term. That could be a real turn-off since barely any EVs qualify for tax credits now. There are a few reasons for this, despite the fact that they require less maintenance overall. EVs don’t need oil changes, for instance. But some of the parts that do need to be replaced, and require maintenance, are a bit more expensive than traditional components. Electric vehicle tires are a great example, which cost about $3,600 to replace every 100,000 miles.
EV tires are different from the tires used on gas-powered vehicles. That’s because EVs are heavier; the batteries used inside the electric variety make them heavier in total than even the engine block in combustion vehicles. In turn, the tires wear faster and create more friction, which means they need to be designed a little differently to accommodate. It also means that the cost is a bit higher because you’ll likely be replacing those tires more often. A large part of that cost has to do with how long those tires really last and how many miles you can squeeze out of them — about 30,000 to 40,000 miles or so.
EV tires wear out faster than traditional tires
The tires used for electric vehicles wear out faster, at a rate of 20% faster on average, versus traditional tires. Ultimately, it’s because EVs are heavier, but there are several factors that affect tire wear. Those include acceleration, increased friction, tire design or treads, and the materials used. Furthermore, EV tires are designed to have a lower rolling resistance — to increase driving range — and reduced noise.
But since they wear faster, that means you have to replace them more often, and that also increases the total cost. Ranging from $150 to $300 per tire, depending on the EV model, they’ll last anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 miles on average. So, for every 100,000 miles, you’re replacing the tires two to three times — which amounts to $3,600 for all four tires replaced three times at the high end of the range. Again, that largely depends on the model and the quality of tires in question. Though cheap on the used market, the Tesla Cybertruck has tires that can cost well over $400 per replacement if you go with premium options.
How does that cost compare to the cost of regular tires?
Knowing the average cost of new tires can help build the comparisons. Standard all-season tires can cost anywhere from $80 to $170, on average, depending on the size of the vehicle. Understandably, for larger vehicles, the tires are bigger and more expensive. Large trucks and utility vehicles can have tires as expensive as $500. But regular tires also last longer, especially if you go by that 20% faster estimate for EV tire wear. It also changes based on whether you go with economy versus premium tires, the latter of which tend to be more expensive. However, since they’re made with premium materials, these higher-end tires also tend to last longer.
If you consider that most standard tires are rated to last for 50,000 to 70,000 miles, at the high end of the cost range, that’s about $1,360 per 100,000 miles if the tires are changed twice. Even if standard all-season tires need to be changed three times, that’s a cost of $2,040. For tires that cost $500 apiece, that’s $4,000 per 100,000 miles when changed twice. Altogether, this gives you a rough estimate and a decent comparison between standard tire and EV tire costs. You could also work backwards and figure out the cost per mile when you know the range and the individual tire cost. Knowing all of this, the higher costs help explain why the cheapest electric vehicle on the market doesn’t have high adoption rates.
