Public electric car charging now cheaper than petrol due to rising fuel prices
The cost of charging an electric vehicle (EV) at a public charger is now lower on average than petrol or diesel for the first time in over a year, new figures show.
Sharp increases in gasoline and diesel prices since the start of the war in Iran mean that using street chargers to power an EV is cheaper per mile than conventional fuel.
Industry body Charge UK’s analysis, based on RAC fuel tracking and Zapmap price index figures, shows that when a standard charger is used with typical efficiency (such as on the street or in a car park) at a national average cost of 54p per kWh, drivers can expect to pay around 15p per mile.
This compares with the current rate of 17p for a typical petrol car or 17.5p for a diesel, he says.
Meanwhile, EV drivers using an 80/20 per cent mix of standard and fast public charging will pay around 16p per mile.
The organization says people who only use public ultrafast charging will now pay more for liquid fuel.
Charge UK says home charging is even cheaper, costing as little as 2p per mile.
Public chargers are more expensive than home charging, partly because they are subject to a higher VAT rate; This rate is 5 percent for home electricity and 20 percent at charging points.
Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder of Zapmap, which directs drivers to charging points, said: “For EV drivers, with a typical 80/20 split between home and public charging, we see the cost savings of charging their EV compared to fueling a petrol or diesel car to be at their highest since May 2024.
“But in the UK we still have the highest public charging costs in Europe and we welcome any measures to tackle this problem to help advance the transition to sustainable transport.”
Ian Plummer, chief customer officer at Autotrader, added: “Cheap running costs have long been a key incentive to go electric and we have seen a significant increase in the number of consumers looking at electric vehicles on our platform following recent petrol price rises, so we know there is growing awareness of how much you can save.
“Our analysis also shows that the average price of a new EV, including rebates and government incentives, has fallen below that of gasoline for the first time.
“Given that upfront price is often the biggest barrier to electric adoption, this is an important milestone in the UK’s transition and we hope it will signal the increasing affordability of electric cars.”
Electric cars have long been seen as a more expensive option for drivers, with purchase prices tending to be higher than petrol and diesel options.
A separate analysis from Autotrader this week found that for the first time new (EVs) are cheaper to buy than petrol models.
Online vehicle marketplace Autotrader attributed the price disparity to government subsidies and “constant manufacturer rebates.”
It said the average price of a new electric car listed on its website was £42,620, which was £785 less than a new petrol model at £43,405.
The Labor government has pledged to ban the sale of new all-petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030; From 2035, only zero-emission models (usually meaning pure electric) were allowed to be purchased.
