Total cost of ownership of an electric company car in Switzerland: EV vs combustion

In Switzerland, an electric company car driving 25,000 km a year costs about CHF 44'600.– over four years, against about CHF 46'500.– for a comparable petrol car, provided 80 % of its charging happens at the employee's home. If the car charges mostly at public fast chargers, the advantage disappears: where the car charges decides the total cost of ownership (TCO) more than its price tag does.

This guide is written for CFOs and fleet managers, including those who have arrived from abroad and want the Swiss-specific cost lines in one place. It sets out the TCO formula, every assumption in francs, the effect of the 4 % automobile tax, cantonal vehicle tax and the 0.9 % private-use share, then the result for one car and for a 50-car fleet. Voltaback, a platform used by more than 200 client companies, sits on just one line of this calculation, but a heavy one: the cost of charging at home.

Key points in 30 seconds

• TCO over 4 years and 100,000 km: about CHF 44'600.– electric vs CHF 46'500.– petrol, roughly 45 vs 46 Rappen per kilometre (assumptions below).
• Energy per 100 km: about CHF 5.60 charging at home, CHF 11.80 at a fast charger on an app tariff, CHF 13.70 in petrol at the TCS price of late October 2026.
• Taxes: since 1 January 2024, EVs also pay the 4 % federal automobile tax. Cantonal vehicle tax is often reduced, from zero in Zurich to a 90 % discount in Vaud.
• Private share: 0.9 % of the purchase price per month. A pricier EV raises the driver's taxable income.
• Tipping point: dropping from 80 % to 30 % home charging adds about CHF 2'700.– per car over four years.

What is fleet TCO?

TCO adds up everything a vehicle costs the company over the period it is held, not just its price or lease instalment. It works on three levels:

• The vehicle: depreciation or lease, energy, servicing, tyres, insurance, taxes.
• The driver: what the car policy adds, such as the private-use share on the salary certificate, driving style or claims.
• Administration: time spent on expense claims, charging-card statements and electricity bills.

For an EV, two items usually escape the leasing company's calculation: where the car charges and at what price that kWh is reimbursed. Yet these are exactly the items that swing the comparison.

The TCO formula and the Swiss assumptions

The formula applies car by car and is then summed across the fleet:

TCO = (purchase price − residual value) + energy + servicing and tyres + insurance + cantonal vehicle tax + charging installation, net of recoverable VAT.

With a lease, the instalment replaces depreciation and financing cost. Divide the total by the distance driven to get the cost per kilometre, the figure that lets you compare cars with different mileages. For the accounting side of depreciation, see our article on depreciating company vehicles.

Notes on these assumptions:

• The purchase price already includes the 4 % automobile tax levied on import. The identical residual value is deliberately cautious, as EV resale values remain less predictable.
• 28 Rp./kWh at home is the figure the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) uses for its reference electric car in 2026. The Swiss median of the Federal Electricity Commission (ElCom) for a standard household is 27.7 Rp./kWh in 2026, falling to 26.5 Rp. in 2027. Sources: TCS, cost per kilometre 2026 and Federal Council, electricity prices 2027.
• 20 kWh at the meter includes about 10 % losses between the home meter and the battery. These are the kWh the employee pays for.
• Petrol at CHF 2.11/l is the Swiss average published by the TCS on 31 October 2026 (diesel: CHF 2.40/l). Source: TCS, fuel prices in Switzerland.
• Servicing, insurance and cantonal tax are orders of magnitude to replace with your own quotes and your canton's scale. The TCS reports a 14 % rise in fully comprehensive premiums in 2026.

EV vs petrol TCO over four years: the table

In the net calculation, recoverable input VAT is deducted from fuel and from public charging invoiced to the company. Home electricity, billed to the employee and then reimbursed, is counted including VAT.

How the EV energy line is built: 80 % at 28 Rp. plus 20 % at CHF 0.59 net of VAT (CHF 0.546) gives a blended price of about 33.3 Rp./kWh. Times 20 kWh, that is CHF 6.66 per 100 km, or CHF 6'664.– over 100,000 km. For petrol: CHF 2.11 net of VAT is CHF 1.95 per litre, times 6.5 litres gives CHF 12.69 per 100 km.

The EV costs more to buy, insure and install for, then catches up on energy, servicing and cantonal tax. The final gap of about 4 % is modest and not guaranteed: it depends on two variables you control.

Variable 1: mileage

At 15,000 km a year, the energy saving falls to about CHF 3'600.– over four years and both drivetrains cost roughly the same. The more the car is driven, the more clearly the EV wins: sales staff, field engineers, people commuting daily between Zug, Zurich and Basel.

Variable 2: the share of home charging

At 30 % home charging instead of 80 %, the average kWh price rises from about 33 to 47 Rp. net of recoverable VAT. Energy then costs about CHF 9'300.– over four years instead of CHF 6'664.–, and the EV becomes slightly dearer than petrol.

Across 50 cars, the difference between mostly-home and mostly-public charging exceeds CHF 130'000.–. No lease negotiation is worth that much.

How much do 100 km cost in an EV and a petrol car in Switzerland?

The cost per 100 km more than doubles depending on where the driver charges. Amounts including VAT, for 20 kWh at the meter or charger.

Electra prices are those published in spring 2026 and may change. Source: electrive, Electra in Switzerland. For long journeys, the Electra charging card offered through Voltaback gives access to this network.

Home prices also vary widely with the municipality and grid operator. ElCom's 2026 cantonal medians for a standard household range from 21.9 Rp./kWh in Zug and 24.8 Rp. in Zurich to 24.9 Rp. in Geneva, 30.4 Rp. in Vaud and 33.2 Rp. in Basel-Stadt. On a night-time low tariff, a charged kWh is often much cheaper. The components of the price are explained in our article on the price per kWh to charge an electric car.

Which taxes does an electric company car pay in Switzerland?

The 4 % automobile tax

Since 1 January 2024, electric cars are no longer exempt from the automobile tax (Automobilsteuer / impôt sur les véhicules automobiles). The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS, BAZG / OFDF) levies 4 % of the import value. The tax is built into the list price: it makes an EV about 4 % dearer than in 2023, with no separate TCO line. Source: FOCBS, automobile tax.

Cantonal vehicle tax

Each of the 26 cantons runs its own system, and the trend is away from full exemptions:

Sources: Canton of Zurich, Canton of Geneva, TAPI ruling, Canton of Vaud, Canton of Bern, Canton of Ticino, Canton of St. Gallen.

For a fleet registered in several cantons, work out this line canton by canton. We cover these regimes in our article on vehicle taxes for electric cars.

The 0.9 % private share: the cost the driver sees

The company's TCO is not the only calculation that matters. If the employee may use the company car privately, a private-use share (Privatanteil / part privée) of 0.9 % per month of the purchase price excl. VAT, options included, is added to salary on the salary certificate (Lohnausweis / certificat de salaire), item 2.2, with box F ticked. It also covers the commute. The same rule applies to cross-border commuters. Source: Federal Tax Administration (ESTV / AFC), salary certificate guidance 2026.

Worked example with our two cars:

The EV adds about CHF 864.– a year to the driver's taxable income. At a marginal rate of around 25 %, that is roughly CHF 200.– more tax a year. The private share also counts as relevant wage for old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV / AVS), which triggers contributions on both the employer and employee side.

Two levers limit this effect: choose useful options rather than expensive packs, since every franc of options counts, and reimburse electricity properly. The guidance states that an employee paying only the charging costs is not enough to waive the private share. A driver who pays for their own charging therefore pays twice. For the full tax picture, see our guide to taxation of electric company cars.

Where the car charges matters more than the supplier

Swiss households cannot freely choose their electricity supplier: they buy from the grid operator of their municipality. The company's lever lies elsewhere: make sure the car charges at home, and reimburse that kWh at its real price.

The model expense regulations (Spesenreglement / règlement des frais) of the Swiss Tax Conference (SSK / CSI) allow two methods:

• A flat allowance: up to CHF 60.– per month for charging at the place of residence, shown under item 13.2.3 of the salary certificate.
• Actual costs: kWh actually charged × the employee's own tariff, the default principle of any expense regulation.

In our example, someone driving 25,000 km a year charges about 4,000 kWh a year at home, about CHF 93.– per month at 28 Rp. With the CHF 60.– allowance, roughly CHF 400.– a year stays out of their pocket. Low-mileage drivers, on the other hand, receive more than they spend. The result: precisely the high-mileage drivers for whom the EV pays off most are nudged to charge at work or in public, and TCO goes up. Source: SSK, model expense regulations 2026.

The full comparison is in our article on flat allowance vs actual costs for home charging.

Hidden costs in electric fleet TCO

Three items are often missing from comparison tables:

1. Admin time. Reading meters, checking tariffs, approving claims: with ten cars, that is half a day a month.
2. Uncontrolled public charging. Without data on where cars charge, the gap only shows up at year end on charging-card statements.
3. Under-use. An EV allocated to someone driving 8,000 km a year never earns back its higher price.

How to lower your fleet TCO

1. Measure where each car charges

An EV's real TCO depends on its home-charging share. Voltaback measures it per vehicle, with no box: the platform is 100 % software and connects to cars from more than 48 brands. The company never receives drivers' location data, only kWh, kilometres and amounts, in line with the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP / nDSG).

2. Reimburse home charging at real cost

Each kWh is valued at the tariff in the employee's own contract, high or low tariff depending on the time. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter, and the measurement has been audited by an independent third party at a 1.22 % relative error. A monthly export is ready to import into your payroll software.

3. Give EVs to high-mileage drivers

Start renewals with cars driving more than 20,000 km a year whose driver has a parking space at home. They widen the EV's lead the most.

4. Track eco-driving and maintenance

Voltaback's box-free telematics follows mileage, consumption, eco-driving and maintenance alerts. Cutting consumption from 20 to 18 kWh/100 km reduces the energy line in proportion.

5. Size charging to real needs

Voltaback does not install chargers, but helps you obtain quotes from licensed electricians. A suitable socket or a simple wallbox is often enough: a connected charger is not needed to measure charging.

To put figures on these levers with your own data, use the fleet home-charging cost simulator and discover the Voltaback fleet manager workspace. To place this calculation in a wider strategy, read our guide to fleet electrification in Switzerland.

Work out your fleet TCO with your own figures

An EV's TCO is won on two lines: mileage and the share of home charging reimbursed at the right price. Measuring the second turns a theoretical TCO into an observed one, car by car.

To analyse your fleet and introduce real-cost reimbursement in line with your expense regulations, contact the Voltaback team.