Unifying criteria for calculating the levelized cost of driving in electro-mobility applications

Abstract

The Levelized Cost of Driving (LCOD) calculates how much it costs to drive a vehicle, per kilometer, over the vehicle lifespan, and it is typically measured in USD/km. LCOD has been widely applied to assess and compare the performance of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Internal Combustion engine Vehicles (ICVs). Unfortunately, there is no common methodology to establish how to compute LCOD. As authors use different criteria to determine which elements are relevant in LCOD, it is difficult to compare results. To overcome this issue, we re-introduce the LCOD concept, where the most relevant expenditures and incomes are included. This novel LCOD definition also incorporates key elements that are sometimes neglected, such as the second life of batteries in EVs, EV battery degradation models, and stochastic models, to characterize daily operation. The proposed methodology is applied to assess the cost of using EVs as taxis in the city of Quito, Ecuador.