The application of total cost of ownership method to automotive industry

Abstract

Transport currently has the largest share of air pollution, among all sectors. Increasing air pollution caused by conventional cars brings an opportunity to develop electric cars, which are a green alternative in transport. The main aim of the article was to explain the terms related to electromobility through the literature and then to examine the total cost of electric cars and conventional cars on the example of selected four models. The comparison was made on the example of the best-selling four selected models: electric car, hybrid car, plug-in hybrid car and standard petrol car. The methods were used in the elaboration of the article: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction and comparison. We used the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) method to process the results. The intention of the article was to point out the lower total cost of ownership for electric cars and to confirm the fact that electric cars are a profitable investment in the future.