Electric cars are up to twice as expensive to run as petrol or diesel vehicles, new figures suggest.
Running a electric vehicle (EV) can cost more than 24p per mile, while a diesel vehicle costs 12.5p.
According to data from the ZapMap app, charging an electric vehicle using a rapid or ultra-rapid device on the road costs up to 80 pence per kilowatt hour.
A typical electric car will travel 3.3 miles for every kWh of electricity used, meaning rapid and ultra-rapid chargers currently cost the equivalent of 24.1p per mile, The Times' calculations suggest.
The slowest chargers cost 16.4 pence per mile.
This is about double the average diesel car, which gets 43mpg, resulting in a cost of 12.5p per mile at current prices. A typical petrol car costs 14.5p per mile, according to the analysis.
A return trip from London to Penzance would cost £148 in an electric car. using fast chargersThe Times said, compared with £77 for a diesel car and £89 for a petrol car.
He added that charging at home is much cheaper, costing less than a third of the price of the average fast charger.
ZapMap found that fast charger prices rose 5 percent over the past year, despite a 30 percent increase. Decrease in the wholesale cost of electricity.
This has coincided with a fall in the price of oil.
Even drivers who choose slower public chargers (the threshold is 50 Wh of power, allowing a full recharge in about 30 minutes) pay more per mile than gasoline and diesel drivers.
There was a 40 per cent increase in the number of rapid or ultra-rapid charging stations in Britain, bringing the total to more than 12,500.
However, recent figures show that sales of electric cars have slowed significantly.
They account for 17.2 percent of all new registrations since the beginning of 2024, down from a peak of 18.7 percent in the second half of 2022.
According to the analysis, rapid and ultra-rapid chargers currently cost electric car drivers the equivalent of 24.1 pence per mile, while slower chargers cost the equivalent of 16.4 pence per mile.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers, told The Times: “The situation is difficult. Demand levels are much, much lower.”
Sales of electric cars in The results in Europe are even worse than in the UK, where figures show registrations fell by 44 per cent in August.
Charging at home is usually significantly cheaper to use public points. However, a large number of households in the UK (almost half) live in terraced houses or flats, meaning they cannot use a driveway or garage to allow charging at home.
The AA has called on the Government to align the level of VAT on chargers, which is currently 20 per cent, with the rate applied to electricity in the home, which stands at 5 per cent.
Thom Groot, founder of the Electric Car Scheme, said: “We need to continue to stimulate demand with incentives and support consumers to make the switch. The fact that those who charge their vehicles at home pay less VAT than those who use public chargers is unfair.”
There is also pressure on the government to consider reducing VAT on electric car sales or exempting electric cars from a new “luxury car surcharge”.
The supplement promises to impose a higher rate of road tax on cars costing more than £40,000.
This is expected to affect about two-thirds of electric cars.
