Mid to long term ownership plan.

EVs do anywhere between 5m/kW (Tesla under ideal conditions) to 2-3m/kW (less efficient EV under real world conditions).

A Jimny is far from economical, so if it was an EV, expect it to be lower - mid range (not the Tesla end), lets say 3m/kW, so that makes it about 10p/mile at current prices.

Petrol on the other hand is £1.64 per L, lets say 7-8m/L, that makes it about 20-23p per mile, so about double.

However, the cost of electricity is likely to go up (may be 50p/kWh) and then the battery life might only be 5 - 10 years, batteries are expected to balance out at £70/kWh when they become mainstream, they are around £110-£150 per kWh at the moment.

Let's assume 10 year life span and 100kWh, that is £7k over 10 years or £700 per year. At average mileage of 12k miles, that is another 5.8p/m.

I found this company who make electric conversions for Land Rover Defender, probably a good comparison
www.electrogenic.co.uk/cars/land-rover-defender-agricultural

It must be a little old (Nov 2020) as they say diesel running costs were 21p/m and 3.8p/m for electric. Using current figures, electric would be nearer 17p/m. The conversion is £24k + VAT.

Yomper now offer an EV option (Spark EV) for their Jimny conversions, see

www.yomper4x4.co.uk/services

No details of cost, says you have to ask about range etc.

Hi, I have done just over 20k in our E Tron, and it will do around 2.7m/kw. However, a lot of this is motorway, which drains the battery quicker. Unlike a geared ICE, where a motorway is better for consumption, electric is better suited to just pottering around, which may well suit most Jimny owners.

Running costs while worth keeping an eye on are not the be all and end all of motoring. I need to remain mobile to function as a business and I have a nasty suspicion that petrol could yet get towards 5 or 6 pounds per litre without really trying especially once the demand falls off a cliff.

I've been ruminating on this, too. I only just got my Jim this year and I've no intention of ever parting with it if I can keep the maint up but I haven't done the welding and waxoyl and that yet. Intend to do it after Xmas. I'm glad to hear that people are keeping them up and running for so long, all the same. As for electric motors, I think you're wise to be thinking about it. If I could keep my M13A or even upgrade it to an M16A, I'd like to do that, but I think some kind of alternative power source is probably inevitable. I'm clinging onto the hope that some mechanical alternative to electric will find its feet. I know it's daft but I think taking the vroom out of our vehicles will really hurt their personality. Make them harder to love. It's a lot harder to anthropomorphise something that doesn't growl and roar. We'll see, anyway.

This might be of interest, short version is French company converting small cars to electric for 5K Euro after grants 7K before, range 100Km.

Obviously early days but I do think there will be a lot of companies starting to offer similar stuff and prices will get better.