There are plenty of good reasons to ride an electric bike instead of driving. They’re not just practical for daily errands, but also support a healthier lifestyle and help reduce your environmental impact.
While those benefits are priceless, there’s one you can measure clearly: ebike vs car cost savings. Whether you ride a conventional bike or an e-bike, the financial payoff can be significant: well over US$7,000 a year. Let’s check out the numbers.
Contents
- What costs are associated with driving a car?
- What are operating costs?
- What are ownership costs?
- Ebike vs cars: So, how much money could I save in total?
- References
What costs are associated with driving a car?
When it comes to vehicle expenses, there are two main types: operating costs and ownership costs. Operating costs cover what you need to regularly spend to use your vehicle, like fuel—especially with rising gas prices—and parking fees. Ownership costs are the bigger-picture expenses of simply having a vehicle over time.
While car payments are a separate cost category, we won’t dive into those here. What we will say is this: both the operating and ownership costs of an e-bike are significantly lower than those of a car.
What are operating costs?
Operating costs include fuel, maintenance and repairs, parking, and tolls (if any). To help you visualize ebike vs car operating costs, we’ve taken a medium sedan and the Tern HSD P10 cargo electric bike as examples.
In the following, we’re going to assume a 10-mile (16 km) daily ride—let’s say you drop your kid off at daycare, head to work, and then pick them up on the way home.
Riding an ebike vs driving: How much cheaper is it?
The following amounts are in USD and have been adjusted for inflation in 2025.
| 
| 
|
|---|---|---|
| Car (Medium Sedan) | Tern HSD P10 (Gen 2) Electric Cargo Bike |
Fuel | $0.13 x 10 = $1.30[1] | $0.1401 per kWh[2] |
Maintenance, Repair, & Tires | $0.11 x 10 ≈ $1.10[3] | $0.12 x 10 = $1.20[4] |
On-street, 1-hour parking | $2.73[5] | Free |
TOTAL | $5.13 | $1.34 |
Operating cost savings for a 10-mile round trip: $5.13 - $1.34 = $3.79
If we go a bit further, replacing just one average car trip with an electric cargo bike ride five days a week for a year can save you at least US$985.40—and likely more if you factor in parking costs.
Annual operating cost savings: $3.79 x 5 days per week x 52 weeks per year = $985.40
How much does it cost to fully charge an e-bike battery?
On average, it takes just below $3.00 worth of electricity to power an e-bike for an entire year. Let’s break down how much you pay for fully charging an HSD P10 once.
- As mentioned before, electricity costs $0.1401 per kWh.
- The P10 runs on a Bosch PowerPack 545 Wh, which is the equivalent of 0.545 kWh.
Cost to fully charge a Tern HSD P10’s battery: $0.1401 x 0.545 ≈ $0.08
You pay approximately $0.08 to charge the battery for up to 76 miles, which is the HSD P10’s maximum range. And let’s say you ride your bike 10 miles daily, 5 days a week, 52 weeks per year:
Total yearly distance | 10 miles daily x 5 days weekly x 52 weeks = 2,600 miles |
|---|---|
Battery charges per year | The HSD has a max range of 76 miles per full charge, so: 2,600 / 76 ≈ 34 charges |
Cost per charge | From before, 1 full charge (545 Wh, or 0.545 kWh) ≈ $0.08 |
Total annual cost | 34 charges x $0.08 ≈ $2.72 |
You’d spend about $2.72 per year on electricity to commute 10 miles a day, 5 days a week, on your HSD P10 cargo bike.
Other operating costs to keep in mind
Parking fees, fines, and… time
If you live in a city where parking is a daily headache (and expense), chances are our charts underestimate how much you’d save. Think about parking tickets—we’ve all been there! And let’s not forget: time is currency, too. The minutes you spend circling for a spot do add up, and we didn’t even include that in our calculations.
Rising costs as your car gets older
Cars need more TLC as they age, which means more money out of your pocket. The older your car, the more you stand to save on maintenance by choosing to ride an electric bike instead. And here’s the great part: you don’t even need to give up your car to see savings. Every trip you take on your e-bike instead of driving chips away at your overall expenses.
While a cargo ebike seems like a significant investment at first, it pays off in quality, safety, and long-term value thanks to thoughtfully selected components and rigorous safety standards.
More reading: Why Good Electric Bikes Don’t Come Cheap (But Are Worth Every Penny)
What are ownership costs?
Have you ever thought about going car-free entirely?
That might mean going fully car-free or letting go of your family’s second car. To see how much you’d save, you’ll want to look at ownership costs, too. Not just what it costs to use a vehicle, but what it costs to have one. That includes things like insurance, depreciation, registration, taxes, and any finance charges you might be paying. So, how do cargo electric bikes and cars compare when it comes to ownership costs? Let’s break it down again.
Riding an ebike vs driving cost breakdown
Annual ownership cost savings: $7,253.20 - $939.14 = $6,314.06
Even without factoring in car payments, switching from a car to an electric cargo bike could save you some $6,300 a year—and that number only goes up if you drive something larger than a midsize sedan. Add in the bike’s lower day-to-day running costs, and suddenly you’ve got a whole lot more room in your budget for the things that really matter.
Ebike vs cars: So, how much money could I save in total?
The answer is: quite a lot!
In our medium sedan vs. HSD P10 comparison above, we’ve assumed that you ride the HSD 10 miles daily to bring your kid to daycare, go to work, and go home together.
Just based on lower operating costs alone, you'd be saving almost $1,000 annually. Now factor in the $6,300 you'd save by not owning a second car, and you’re looking at $7,300 back in your pocket every year. And our calculations didn’t even include using the HSD cargo bike for grocery runs and running errands—another 5 miles a week, give or take.
Imagine what you could do with all that money: go on a vacation, renovate your home, or just have less financial stress. You could even budget for another e-bike for your spouse, helping them ride more and reduce car use while lowering your family’s overall vehicle costs even further.
Learn more: How Much Should You Budget For a Good Electric Bike?
Of course, these are estimates, and your actual savings will depend on your lifestyle and habits. But why not sit down with your own numbers and see what kind of difference a cargo electric bike could make for your family? And don’t forget: all that fresh air and movement? It might save you a gym membership or a few doctor’s visits, too.
Curious to see what it’s like? Find your nearest Tern dealer and take a test ride!
References
- 2025 amount, based on $0.1254 per mile in 2024. Your Driving Costs, by AAA (American Automobile Association), 2024. To reflect 2025 purchasing power, we adjusted this and all following rates in this article using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator.
- Assumes the maximum battery range of the Tern HSD P10, which is 545 kWh (0.545 Wh) for up to 76 miles (121 km). Electricity cost of $0.1401 per kWh as of 2025. US Energy Information Administration, Table 5.6A, Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Consumer by End-Use Sector > Transportation, March 2025, U.S. Total.
- 2025 amount, based on $0.1089 per mile in 2024. Your Driving Costs, 2024.
- 2025 amount. At $0.12 per mile, this estimate is based on $295 in average annual maintenance costs for the Tern HSD P10 ebike—including common consumables like brake pads, chain, cassette, and tires—plus general service, assuming a 10-mile daily commute, five days a week.
- 2025 amount. Using the Global Parking Index 2022 by Parkopedia, we identified Boston as the least expensive US city among the top 50 for two-hour on-street parking, at $4.83, or approximately $2.42 per hour. According to the CPI Inflation Calculator, $2.42 in 2022 is equivalent to $2.73 in 2025.
- 2025 amount, based on $1,583 in 2024. Your Driving Costs, AAA, 2024.
- The costs for a premium cargo electric bike like the HSD P10 vary between $250 and $400. We took the average of these numbers: $250 + $400 = $650; $650/2 = $325. How Much Does Ebike Insurance Cost? (Tempo), 2025.
- 2025 amount, based on $644 in 2024. Your Driving Costs, AAA, 2024.
- 2025 amount, based on $3,768 in 2024 for 15k mi/yr. Your Driving Costs, AAA, 2024.
- For the HSD P10, assuming a straight-line depreciation over a 7-year period: $4,299 (MSRP) / 7 ≈ $614.14.
- 2025 amount, based on $1,047 in 2024. Your Driving Costs, AAA, 2024.
