Apart from any performance or other variations, a main reason behind why greener electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are not that of an attraction is because of their related energy costs. Depending on the country or city, electricity cost for these vehicles could be more than, or less than, driving a car with an internal combustion engine running on fossil fuels.

For an electric vehicle to be cost-effective, the total electricity cost per kilometre should either be equal to, or more preferably less than, the total cost of gasoline per kilometre. This is mostly not the case for those regions utilizing fossil-fuels as their primary energy source. As explained earlier, due to increasing scarcity of fossil-fuel and added carbon tax and other environmental damages costs, electricity generated by these sources tends to be much more expensive.

Thus, ending energy poverty for those in need by way of cheaper renewable energy developments can also have a significant effect on the urban and modern world. The switch to electric vehicles also reduces an enormous chunk of global carbon dioxide emissions, and thus solving various other problems such as global warming and climate change.