Is it expensive to charge an electric car? 🔌⚡️

2 Dec

With the current energy crisis looming and people worrying more than ever about their bills - is it cheaper to run an electric car than an internal-combustion engine in December 2022?

You may have heard that electric cars are better for the environment than petrol or diesel cars - you heard that right. You may have also heard that electric cars are more expensive to run than other cars because they cost a lot to charge - that, is not so accurate.

There are lots of factors that contribute towards the cost of running an electric car, but overall they are cheaper to run than a petrol or diesel equivalent.

Back before the pandemic in 2019 the average UK car was driven 7,200 miles a year. The average petrol car on UK roads gets about 36 miles per gallon, while a diesel vehicle gets 43 miles.

On petrol prices a year ago, that would cost the average petrol driver £1,020 a year, and the average diesel driver £870. One year later that same petrol driver would face costs of £1,344, while a diesel driver would be splashing out £1,195.

That’s a difference of around £325 for both drivers.

An electric car is drastically cheaper, even with higher energy prices. Modern electric cars typically get around four miles per kWh, meaning each mile costs about 7p on current energy prices. That’s £504 a year for those 7,200 miles – a saving of £600 – £800 for an average driver. If you drive more, you will save more – and that’s with the current high energy prices, no free charging at a workplace or cheaper charging off-peak. Real costs are likely to be even lower.

Charging an electric car off-peak at your home is certainly a lot cheaper than buying fuel. And some workplaces allow workers to charge their cars for free. With The Electric Car Scheme, we can factor this into your salary sacrifice quote - making it the most affordable way to purchase a home charge point. If a home charger is not an option for you because you do not have off-street parking, don’t worry, Sam (who works in our Business Development team) doesn’t have one either, he factors charging his car into his commute to and from work. You can read more about his experience here.

Other places to charge your car:

At work: Some employers want to help make their employees switch to an EV even easier by installing charging stations in the office car parks. Here is what employers may offer:

Free charging stations
Free for a period of time and then a charging fee
Fixed time-limit to encourage sharing

Public charging stations: Most EV drivers factor these into their journeys to avoid running on low battery. Some locations may require a charge card which you can order online. However, most charging stations have free apps that allow you to search from charging points and pay through the app. These apps are useful for planning journeys ahead of time as they can also provide information on how to pay and can be filtered to search for the right connector type.

Rapid charging: These are normally found at motorway service stations. These stations can also vary from being free to more expensive depending on the car you have and the operator.

Visit our charging pages to learn more.

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Gaurav Ahluwalia

Gaurav, The Electric Car Scheme's Marketing Director, is a seasoned marketing leader with nearly a decade of experience in the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry. Throughout his career, Gaurav has not only honed his marketing skills but has also delved deep into the realm of electric cars, cultivating a wealth of valuable insights and innovative perspectives that make him a prominent figure in the field.