The Swedish CEO Volvo, Hokan Samuelson, has repeatedly argued that within the next five years one electric car It will cost less on the market than the conventional one. He doesn't talk about total property costs — for which EV already has a frequent advantage — but for the price on the invoice. This prediction no longer sounds unreal.
The data supports her. In 2024, the average price of battery packages dropped by 20%, reaching $15 per kilowatt hour — A crucial threshold for industry. Analysts of Goldman Sachs estimate that prices will descend even lower, at levels that will allow for a parity of total ownership costs with thermal vehicles in American and European markets. Most industry analysts estimate that the price rate for mainstream models will come between 2026 and 2028.
Four reasons that make electrical cheaper
The battery is the best known reason — But not the only one. Volvo has analysed four driving forces that push costs down.
First, the exclusive electrical platforms. New models are no longer conversions of existing gasoline engines — are designed from the outset as electrical, resulting in greater standardisation and much better economies of scale.
Secondly, the incorporation of the battery into the body structure (cell-to-body), which eliminates entire subsystems, reduces weight and simplifys construction. This is where manufacturers evolve rapidly, with Blade Battery technology BYD be one of the best known examples.
Thirdly, unified electronic architecture. The so-called «software-defined vehicle» — car defined by software rather than hardware — allows manufacturers to reuse architectures, reduce growth costs and offer over-the-air updates without visiting a workshop.
Fourth, the mega-casting technology: casting large body parts into one piece — technology first used by Tesla — continues to spread, reducing hundreds of separate components to one.
The race for Europe's cheap electricity
Large manufacturers such as Renault, Volkswagen, Hyundai and BYD have announced electric models for the European market with a price of less than 25,000 euros, with nearly ten such models expected by the end of 2026. Three years ago, this proposal would have seemed impossible. Today, it's a fact.
Before it is completed in 2026, the European car industry will have proven in practice that electric power can be made accessible, with the largest manufacturers returning dynamically to the categories A and B at prices corresponding to the average consumer's pocket.
What is happening in Greece
The Greek market is not just following these developments. — He's already experiencing them. BYD won first place in the sales of new energy vehicles in the first quarter of 2026, recording 746 classifications, increased by 41.3% compared to the corresponding period of 2025. In pure electric cars, BYD is named No.1 brand with 484 classifications and market share 21.1%, while one in three new energy cars selected by individuals in Greece belongs to the brand.
BYD Dolphin Surf starts at around 17,290 euros in Greece, while with the subsidies of the program «Moving Electric 3» the actual acquisition price for the buyer can be lowered even lower. The total benefit for the buyer — through zero traffic charges, reduced classification tax and state subsidy — It can touch 10,000 euros.
The last obstacle: fear of depreciation
There is, of course, a parameter that makes wider adoption difficult: the concern that today's electricity will be discredited faster, because in three years there will be cheaper and better models. The argument is based on — but it applies equally to any technology in maturation. And if it is examined on the basis of actual operating costs — lower charge versus fuel, essentially zero engine maintenance — the image changes radically in favour of electricity even today. Of the 54 EV models examined in an analysis of 2025, 24 of them had a lower five-year cost of ownership than the respective petrol engines, even without State subsidies.
The big twist won't come in a day with an announcement from some company. It will be noticed one morning that someone will visit a representative and find that the electric in the courtyard costs less than the gasoline car next to him. In several markets this moment approaches — and Greece, with Chinese models pushing prices and Europeans «folk» EVs on the horizon, it's no longer a science fiction scenario.
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