The Editor’s View

While the electric car vs petrol car debate has raged on for some time now, one area of the argument that has never been in doubt is the matter of running costs. Once you get past the upfront ticket price, the biggest overhead is fuel costs, which sit at roughly a third of the cost of the average petrol car. However, domestic energy tariffs have seen substantial change for the worse. The energy price cap increased by 54% as of 1 April. For EV owners, that means charging costs are on the up, but how badly will that affect overall ownership costs and, perhaps more crucially, EV running costs versus those of petrol and diesel alternatives? With energy prices high, the cost to charge an electric car in the UK will naturally come up too.
But, how much does it cost to charge an electric car? According to Which, typical charging costs for an annual mileage of 8,100 miles can span anywhere from £750-1,150 a year depending on the size of the EV you own. In light of new energy tariffs, however, charging costs could go up by around £200.No matter whether you’re driving electric, hybrid, petrol or diesel, we’re all going to have to stomach some steep fuel costs. When compared to running a combustion vehicle, the associated operating costs remain lower.