Cost of charging an electric car surges by 42 percent
An electric car driver exclusively using rapid or ultra-rapid public chargers pays around 18p per mile for electricity, compared with roughly 19p per mile for petrol and 21p per mile for diesel, according to new figures.
The cost of charging an electric car using public charge points on a pay-as-you-go basis has risen by 42 percent in just four months, according to the RAC.
The motoring group said the average price for using the chargers has increased by 18.75p per kilowatt hour (kWh) since May, reaching 63.29p per kWh.
The latest figures show a driver exclusively using rapid or ultra-rapid public chargers pays around 18p per mile for electricity, compared with roughly 19p per mile for petrol and 21p per mile for diesel.
The rise has been blamed on the soaring wholesale costs of gas and electricity.
RAC spokesman Simon Williams said:
“It remains the case that charging away from home costs less than refuelling a petrol or diesel car, but these figures show that the gap is narrowing as a result of the enormous increases in the cost of electricity.
These figures very clearly show that it’s drivers who use public rapid and ultra-rapid chargers the most who are being hit the hardest.”
An AA survey of 12,500 drivers showed that rising domestic energy prices are putting many people off from switching to an electric car.
Some 63 percent of respondents said the increase in home electric bills is contributing to them sticking with petrol or diesel models, while 10 percent stated it was the “main reason”.
AA head of roads policy Jack Cousens said:
“With domestic energy prices rising, drivers can be forgiven for believing switching to an EV will become expensive quickly.
However, the reality is that even with the hike in domestic electricity costs, running an EV is considerably cheaper than a petrol or diesel car.”
Electric car sales slowing
With sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the UK due to be banned from 2030, Mr Cousens said the government will need to “keep a watchful eye on how energy prices will impact the transition to electrification”.
The number of registrations during the first three months of the year was 102 percent more than during the same period in 2021.
At the end of August, the year-to-date increase had fallen to 49 percent.
See more here sky.com
Editor’s note: Either Jack Cousens of the AA is blindly trotting out alarmist propaganda, or he is somehow unaware of what the RAC have said.
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Hari Seldon
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Remember also that the cost of diesel and petrol includes heavy taxation and that the electricity for the EVs is heavily subsidised by the taxpayer. They take subsidies from the poor to give to the rich. Driving an EV should be seen for what it is, a social and very public scandal.
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Howdy
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“An electric car driver exclusively using rapid or ultra-rapid public chargers pays around 18p per mile for electricity, compared with roughly 19p per mile for petrol and 21p per mile for diesel, according to new figures.”
Considering the vehicle used for the figures was never mentioned, the above is complete nonsense.
“it’s drivers who use public rapid and ultra-rapid chargers the most who are being hit the hardest.”
The impatience of these drivers is also rewarded by less overall battery lifetime since forced charging of the type stated is more stressfull on the cells.
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Howdy
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Oh I forgot.
“around 18p per mile for electricity, compared with roughly 19p per mile for petrol”
Around, and roughly? That’s a rather dubious use of words.
So as far as anyone knows the difference is negligible, then but give a rough figure just to force a point. Sky news eh?
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Charles Higley
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“However, the reality is that even with the hike in domestic electricity costs, running an EV is considerably cheaper than a petrol or diesel car.””
This is, of course, ignoring the much higher price for the EV, with it’s 3 to 5-year expensive battery replacement that will easily be twice that of an engine replacement which normally is not needed for 20 years. Being cheaper to run day to day does not count in the other expenses, before and after.
EV’s are heavier and do more road and tire damage. The owner pays for the tire damage and the owner will also be paying annual road fees based on the EV weight. Note that the EV F-150 is two tons heavier that a normal ICE F-150 (9000 vs. 5000 lbs). ICE car owners pay their road fees in the fuel taxes they pay, thus making the fees paid proportional to driving practices. EVs will be paying a flat tax that treats everyone the same regardless of whether you drive a lot or a little, thus the one who drives little pays proportionally more as the assumptions of the fees will be toward higher road usage.
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