Electric car public charging prices up 58% in eight months

Electric car drivers who want to charge their vehicles on the go will have to pay 58 percent more than in May, a new market study has found.

According to a new analysis from the RAC, the average cost of running a ‘fast’ device across the UK’s various public charging companies rose to 70.32 pence per kilowatt-hour in early January, compared to 44.55 p eight months ago.

It says the owner of a family electric car with a 64kW battery will pay £36 to add around 186 miles of range, which works out to almost 20p per mile. In contrast, a driver of an equivalent petrol car only pays about 17p-a-mile.

By comparison, the RAC says the average cost to charge a family EV up to 80 pents with a wallbox installed at home today costs around £17.87 – despite record high domestic energy prices.

The RAC’s report follows a similar analysis by the Daily Mail on Monday, which indicated that petrol cars are cheaper to drive longer journeys than electric vehicles, which are usually sold to customers on the assumption that they are much cheaper to run.

The rising costs are caused by the high wholesale price of electricity, which public charging companies pass on to consumers through ad hoc price increases.

This has widened the difference in running costs between connecting an electric car at home and more expensive public appliances – and in some cases it is more than double the price.

For example, pay-as-you-go users of the popular Shell Recharge network will have to pay 85 pence per kWh to charge from a fast 50kW device, while BP Pulse wants 69 pence per kWh to access plug-in charging. in points with this loading speed.

This means that the price per kilometer for an electric vehicle charged at home is less than 11 pence, which is much cheaper than petrol and evidence that those with the option to plug in at the homes will see the greatest cost benefits.

Using the fastest public ‘ultra-fast’ charging devices – those with speeds in excess of 100kW – is even more expensive.

While these charging points can charge an electric car battery up to 80 per cent in minutes, it comes at a much higher average cost of 74.79p per kWh.

That’s up from an average of 50.97p in May 2022 – a 47 percent increase.

Charging a family electric car with an average battery capacity of 64kWh to 80 per cent using one of these devices costs an average of £38.29 – or 21p per mile – according to the report. That’s £20.42 more than it costs drivers who can plug in at home.

Based on current UK average pump prices, it is also more cost effective to drive a petrol car on longer journeys.

A gasoline model that returns 40 miles to the gallon costs about 17 miles per mile, the RAC calculated, while diesels compare with fast-charging costs of about 20 pence per mile because of higher prices at the pumps. That figure is also based on a 40 mpg return, but many diesel cars are more fuel efficient than petrol and so the comparison between petrol and diesel may be more favorable in the real world.

Charging an electric car at home is still by far the cheapest option, working out at around 11 pence per kilometre. That’s 9 pence less than using public chargers – and about 6 pence cheaper than petrol

The RAC says it is increasingly concerned that the high costs of longer journeys in electric cars will dampen drivers’ willingness to switch to greener cars.

It said the skyrocketing cost of using the public network – on top of the relatively high prices for battery vehicles – could “dissuade drivers from opting for them over keeping their existing petrol and diesel vehicles.”

Britain’s poor charging infrastructure is another hurdle in moving to electric cars

In addition to concerns about rising costs, the size and coverage of public charging infrastructure is also being questioned by industry insiders and EV owners.

Government figures show that almost a third of all public charging points are located in the capital.

In fact, Westminster has more devices than Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham combined.

According to an analysis by the County Councils Network, there is an average of one charger available for every kilometer in the capital, compared to one charger per 26 kilometers in England’s counties.

Simon Williams, the RAC’s spokesperson, said: ‘If drivers are to make a massive switch to electric cars, it’s vital that the numbers pile up.

‘In time, the list price of new electric models will fall, but fast charging must also be as affordable as possible.’

He continues: ‘Those who can charge at home or at work and do not use the public fast charging network often still get a fantastic price – even given the relatively high domestic energy prices at the moment.

“Unfortunately, that cannot be said of people who either cannot charge at home or at work, or who regularly take longer journeys out of range of their car.

“There’s no doubt they have to pay a lot more, and in some cases more than petrol or diesel drivers pay to fill up mile by mile.”

Figures released last week by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed that battery-electric new cars will achieve a market share of 16.6 percent by 2022, making it the second most purchased fuel after gasoline.

By comparison, diesels accounted for just 9.6 percent of all new cars purchased in 2022 as demand for the fuel type continues to shrink following the 2015 Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal.

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the UK will be banned from 2030.