Dolphin Mini as a ride-hailing car: BRL 762 in charging against BRL 4,200 in fuel

A ride-hailing driver reported having driven around 7,800 kilometres in one month with a BYD Dolphin Mini and spent BRL 762 on charging, against the roughly BRL 4,200 he estimates he spent on fuel in his previous Volkswagen Gol.

The account measures energy cost and does not measure residual value. IBV Auto, banco BV's index for used car prices in Brazil, in its survey for the first half of 2026, records depreciation of 46.1% for electric vehicles launched in 2023, against 26.1% for hybrids and 19.6% for combustion vehicles. For those launched in 2022, the average loss was 50.5% for electric vehicles and 13.2% for combustion vehicles.

For those who use the car professionally, the energy saving enters the cash flow month by month, and the loss of value appears all at once, on resale or when the financing is paid off. The balance depends on the period of use and on battery health at the time of sale.

What decides the financial outcome of switching to an electric vehicle in ride-hailing work is the resale value at the end of the usage cycle.