How much it costs to charge an electric car on a long journey in the UK
Environmentally aware Brits may be looking at cheaper ways to travel amid climate change and the cost of living crisis.
Tax exemptions, helping out the planet and moving away from gas-guzzling petrol and diesel cars may appeal to plenty of Brits thinking of switching to an electric car, but the numbers might not add up.
Views among several experts are that electric cars are cheaper to run, but the price hike on electricity over the last year has not helped and some tests for long-range journeys tell a different story.
Analysis by one driver looked into if electric cars really can stand up to the range and cost benefits of their diesel and petrol alternatives.
Electric cars are much better for the environment (Getty Images/Image Source)The test involved a 350-mile round trip using an electric car and compared what it would cost in a diesel.
Even the Tooth Fairy is feeling the cost of living crunch with payments down 10%
A Volvo C40 Recharge Twin Pro was compared to a 16-year-old BMW 318 diesel from Cornwall to Bristol.
So what did the analysis show and are electric cars cheaper to run?
Are electric cars cheaper fill up?
Electric cars can be cheaper to run, but it depends on a number of factors including charging the car.
Charging should generally be cheaper, but could take a long time (Getty Images/Cultura RF)Drawbacks of using the electric car include a long period for charging the car at home, though this appears to be the cheapest option and comes from a basic three-pin plug at home, delivering roughly 2.4kw to the car.
The analysis done involved a user on a fixed deal electricity tariff, around 25p per kWh. This means it costs around £20 to fully charge the Volvo for a range of £273 miles.
An estimated cost-cap price would set back the owner of an electric car around £26. Home-wall charges, delivering around 7kw, can vastly speed up the process.
Public charging points are far quicker but much more expensive. They can charge an electric car to around 80% between 20 to 40 minutes.
Brits saw record-high fuel prices in 2022 (Geoffrey Swaine/REX/Shutterstock)Essentially, rapid charging points are more convenient for adding range more quickly, but could actually be more expensive than using fuel in some cases.
Planning charges at home may take longer, but is the cheapest option.
There are also chargers with smart-charge software that add the needed range in the early hours of the morning when electricity is the cheapest.
Savvy supermarket shopper shares how she stretches £60 into ten meals
Charging is also free in some areas and services such as the Zap-Map can help people find free facilities to use.
Are electric cars cost-effective?
Electric cars are likely to be cheaper to run, despite rising electricity prices (Getty Images/iStockphoto)If electric cars are cost-effective is likely to depend on the owner's individual circumstances.
Shorter trips within a city require less range, making topping up the battery less frequent, less expensive and better for the environment.
For the Cornwall-Bristol journey, the driver put together the costs for his trip at a total of £88.07. He estimated that the diesel cost for same journey in the BMW was £50.24, assuming 55mpg and 173.9p per litre.
Petrol cost for same journey, assuming 45mpg and 150.9p per litre, was £53.28
Electric car owners do not have to pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) (Bloomberg via Getty Images)Car experts at Parkers estimate the price of charging an electric car has risen by around 50% since May 2022. This suggests that longer journeys are not necessarily more cost-effective than diesel or petrol cars.
However, EDF Energy said: "Electric vehicles are likely to cost you less over the course of ownership. Electricity costs much less than petrol or diesel and electric cars require less maintenance than an internal combustion engine (ICE)."
Other factors to consider are the tax benefits of using an electric car - users do not have to pay road tax or fork out for Clean Air Zone charges - potentially saving people hundreds every year.
Brits may have to weigh up the long term costs if they want to switch to an electric car (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Servicing and maintaining electric vehicles is also believed to e cheaper in the long run as there are fewer moving parts. Brakes are also less likely to wear down as quickly due to regenerative braking.
Volkswagen Financial Services said: "Electric cars are much cheaper to run based on fuel costs alone. You can also make further savings by charging your vehicle at home, with an EV-focused tariff."
For longer round trips like the one cited in the analysis, planning is likely needed beforehand to make sure cars can be charged efficiently at the right time.
Longer trips may require rapid charging points, which could prove to be more expensive (Getty Images)During the experiment, the driver set off with full charge and expected 273 miles for the 175 miles to Bristol, but the car showed a range of just 180 miles.
The same journey in a BMW cost the owner around £50 at 173.9p a litre.
A stop was made on the journey to add more charge and the car was given an additional 35 per cent of battery but cost a hefty £19.62.
The same added range, which can be added much more quickly than just under 40 minutes of charge, would cost around £8 in most diesel cars.
Stopping at Taunton, the driver said: "Taunton has a Gridserve fast charger, pumping 60kw into the car at a cost of 65p per kWh. It was very quick and easy to hook up, with its own cable extending out rather like a petrol pump, plugging straight in with no need to faff with the cables that come with the car.
"Once plugged in you tap your contactless payment card and off you go. When you're done you just hit 'stop', it tells you the cost, you unplug and off you go."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
