“Britain’s public charging network is so expensive that the cost of driving an electric car is now up to twice the price of running a petrol or diesel vehicle”.
Thanks for that, The Times.
Unlike Char.gy - the epitome of impartiality - the media often distribute a negative narrative surrounding EVs, in this case being that they are more expensive to buy and to operate compared to ICE vehicles. Let’s bust this myth and provide you with some factual ammo for the next time you’re being berated down the pub for driving your friends there in a money-gobbling EV. A simple ‘thanks’ would suffice... 😌
Charging Costs
The inflammable line from The Times is referring to the most expensive ultra-rapid charging points (CPs), rather than looking at the cheaper public-charging alternatives. The Times stated that a return journey from London to Penzance would cost £148 in an electric car using rapid chargers, compared with £77 in a diesel car and £89 using petrol. 💡 Here's an idea! How about charging overnight using a cheaper tariff before you set off, rather than stopping at a motorway service halfway for an ultra-rapid, ultra-extortionate charge (+ a £3.50 Mars bar)?
Ultra-rapid chargers cost an average of 80p/kWh, whereas Char.gy, for example, offer 39p/kWh from midnight to 7am. If you take advantage of the cheaper, off-peak electricity prices at night, by scheduling your charging, you will be paying considerably less than you would using a rapid/ultra-rapid CP during the day.
So, if The Times calculations are correct, but you used Char.gy’s overnight tariff instead, it would cost around £73, rather than £148. Which works out as £4 cheaper than a diesel car and £16 cheaper than a petrol. Oh, and think of how pretty your carbon footprint would look!
The New Market
Consumer demands are growing. Data shown from ZapMap in September 2024, states that 56,387 new electric cars were sold, which was 20.5% of all new car registrations. This was a record month in terms of the number of new electric cars sold.
This is great and all, but here's a confession: new EVs are more expensive than their ICE equivalent. See, we are SO impartial! Nevertheless, how many people can really afford, or want to buy a new vehicle knowing the value drops by a small fortune once you leave the sparkly gates of the garage… Luckily, with battery costs reducing and continued innovation, for those who can afford to buy new, GOV.UK predicts that some EVs will cost the same price to buy as a petrol or diesel car by the end of the 2020s.
The Used Market
Looking deeper into people’s buying habits in 2024, Autotrader found that 80% of drivers in the UK buy their cars on the used market and 90% of new cars are bought using a 3-4 year lease agreement. Their October Press Release said that “3-5-year-old electric cars were outperforming market, selling in just 19 days,” and that prices of many secondhand vehicles are now similar, or cheaper, to their petrol counterparts. And as the first wave of EV owners come to the end of their lease agreements, there’s more choice than ever for secondhand cars across UK dealerships.
Long-term Costs
While the initial purchase of an EV may be slightly higher, the long-term ownership cost is lower. Stuart Rescue, one of the UK’s leading breakdown providers, found that EVs are 59% less likely to break down than ICE vehicles. Their data shows EVs, ranging from new to 10 years old, are less likely to suffer from a flat battery call-out than petrol or diesel cars. Ha, the irony!
Okay, enough about insurance claims and Mars bars. As more people become familiar with EVs and experience their benefits firsthand, the mythology surrounding EVs will likely dissipate. The continued growth of the EV market and the continued innovation will also play a crucial role in dispelling these misconceptions and making EVs a more accessible and attractive option for drivers, everywhere.