---
title: "Investment Bank Report Predicts the Cost of Electric Vehicles Will Match Regular Cars by 2018"
description: "The cost of making EVs could become cheaper too, which can increase profit for car makers."
date: "2017-08-16"
modified: "2017-08-16"
authors:
  - name: "Dom Galeon"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/domgaleon"
url: "https://futurism.com/investment-bank-report-predicts-the-cost-of-electric-vehicles-will-match-regular-cars-by-2018"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Electric Vehicles"
tags:
  - "clean energy"
  - "electric cars"
  - "electric vehicles"
  - "renewable energy"
---

# Investment Bank Report Predicts the Cost of Electric Vehicles Will Match Regular Cars by 2018

![electric vehicles electric cars](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ioniq-electric-gallery-one-large.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="http://www.hyundai.co.uk/new-cars/ioniq/electric" target="\_blank"\>Hyundai\</a\>\</em\>*

## Driving Down the Price

Over the past couple of years, we've seen a surge in electric vehicle development. Apart from Tesla, there are now over [a dozen other startups ](<https://futurism.com/tesla-challenger-faraday-future-just-showed-off-its-flagship-electric-vehicle>)working on their own electric car concept. Even veteran car makers have jumped on EV trend: Swedish car manufacturer Volvo [ditching petrol-fueled cars starting in 2019](<https://futurism.com/volvo-becomes-the-first-premium-car-maker-to-go-all-electric>), and luxury car maker Porsche has promised that [half of its new vehicles](<https://futurism.com/porsches-ceo-just-announced-the-companys-big-plans-to-transition-to-electric-cars>) will be electric by 2023.

Undoubtedly, EVs are starting to take over the automobile market. International [investment bank UBS](<https://www.ubs.com/global/en.html>) thinks the first step in market dominance of EVs would be in terms of costs. [In a report published on May](<https://www.ft.com/content/b7d0c024-be1e-11e6-8b45-b8b81dd5d080>), analysts from the bank's "evidence lab" predicted that EV prices will soon match those of combustion-engine cars.

According to *[The Telegraph](<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/19/electric-vehicles-cost-conventional-cars-2018/>)*, the UBS report predicts that the “total cost of consumer \[EV\] ownership can reach parity with combustion engines from 2018”, a trend which would likely begin in Europe. “This will create an inflection point for demand. We raise our 2025 forecast for EV sales by 50% to 14.2 million — 14% of global car sales.” UBS reached this conclusion after tinkering with a [Chevrolet Bolt EV](<https://futurism.com/the-chevy-bolt-just-bested-teslas-model-s-in-a-range-test>), which it described as “the world’s first mass-market EV, with a range of more than 200 miles.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u32DCM5gI28

## Competitive Advantage

The UBS prediction somewhat matches [a report by Dutch bank ING](<https://www.ing.nl/media/ING_EBZ_breakthrough-of-electric-vehicle-threatens-European-car-industry_tcm162-128687.pdf>), which expects electric cars to [dominate European roads by 2035](<https://futurism.com/new-report-says-electric-cars-will-dominate-european-markets-by-2035>). Indeed, both said that a major factor would be a decrease in costs; a trend that's already begun. With newer models coming out, the price of older EVs has dropped, with some even[ getting discounts of up to $20,000](<https://futurism.com/as-new-electric-vehicles-come-to-market-older-models-get-discounted-up-to-20000>).

Speaking of new vehicles, the recently launched Tesla Model 3 is expected to boost mass adoption of EVs with its relatively affordable price. While it's currently the cheapest EV out there, [Nissan's 2018 Leaf](<https://futurism.com/nissans-2018-leaf-will-cost-5000-less-than-teslas-model-3>) promises to cost some $5,000 less than the Model 3. This doesn't mean, however, that electric cars aren't going to be profitable. “Once total cost of ownership parity is reached, mass-brand EVs should also turn profitable,” the report said.

The UBS report also noted that manufacturing EVs is cheaper than they previously thought — and there's still more room for cost reduction through strategies like developing cheaper batteries and [building more charging infrastructure.](<https://futurism.com/australia-plans-to-set-the-record-for-electric-vehicle-highways>) These measures will be important, since more and more countries are now opting for EVs. [France will ban](<https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/06/france-ban-petrol-diesel-cars-2040-emmanuel-macron-volvo>) selling petrol and diesel cars by 2040, while all cars sold in [India will be electric by 2030](<https://futurism.com/every-single-car-sold-in-india-will-be-electric-by-2030>).

Electric cars aren't the only clean energy tech that's been getting less costly. Renewable energy sources, like [solar](<https://futurism.com/solar-power-is-cheaper-but-the-world-is-still-running-on-fossil-fuels>) and [wind](<https://futurism.com/wind-energy-has-officially-become-cheaper-than-fossil-fuels>), continue to be [cheaper than their fossil fuel counterparts](<https://futurism.com/just-ten-years-renewable-energy-cheaper-fossil-fuels>). The price of solar panels has, for example, dropped over the last few months. The decreasing cost of EVs seems to be part of a greater revolution towards clean energy.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-john-galeon-9b086925/>)  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/domgaleon>)