Reading the €/month figure: what's in the cost breakdown
At the bottom of every car page sits a single number in €/month. It isn’t a marketing metric — it’s the sum of six or seven individual lines, and once you know what each one means, the whole breakdown reads in about a minute.
Why €/month, not the purchase price
The purchase price is a snapshot from the day you buy. It says nothing about how fast a car loses value, what it costs in tax, insurance or maintenance — or what a THG bonus pays back. The €/month figure adds all of that up over your holding period, which is what actually makes two cars with very different price tags comparable. Why that matters most for new-vs-used decisions is covered in New or used?.
What each line means
- Depreciation — the gap between entry value and residual value, spread over your holding period. Usually the biggest block; how the curve is built is covered in EV depreciation explained.
- Energy — your consumption times a real-world factor times the electricity price, weighted by how much you charge at home.
- Vehicle tax — usually €0 for pure EVs, because it’s statutorily exempt (see EV road tax in Germany).
- Insurance — type class (see Typklassen) and regional class (your postcode), applied to the car’s current value.
- Maintenance — a flat rate by drivetrain, scaled to your annual mileage.
- THG bonus (minus) — the annual credit for pure EVs, see THG premium.
- Purchase grant (minus, new cars only) — a one-off amount at purchase that we spread across your holding period: the shorter you hold, the harder it pulls the monthly figure down.
Every line carries its evidence
Next to each line sits a label — “Official”, “Calibrated”, “Model” and so on — showing how firm that number is. What the labels mean and where they come from is covered in full by »Price checked«.
The assumptions are yours, not ours
Every cost breakdown runs on assumptions: how many kilometres you drive a year, how long you keep the car, how much you charge at home versus on the road. These aren’t constants — set them to match your situation, and the whole calculation, including the total, recomputes instantly.
Practical tip: open the cost breakdown on any car page, set your real annual mileage, then compare two cars side by side in the compare view — that’s where you see at a glance which line makes the difference.
Continue with real numbers: Cheapest EVs by total cost · Filter all cars · Compare models