Are electric cars cheaper to run?
In general, yes, EVs are cheaper to run than petrol cars over their lifespan. This is due to a number of factors.
First of all, electricity is typically significantly cheaper than petrol or diesel per mile driven. This difference has become even more pronounced with recent energy price rises affecting fossil fuels.
An electric car costs £6 less than the average petrol car for every 100 miles. Using an average electricity cost of 34p per kWh, it costs £12 to drive 100 miles. Whereas it costs £18 to drive 100 miles in the average petrol car (using an average cost of petrol of £1.63).
Next up - electric car service costs. EVs have a lot fewer moving parts than traditional petrol or diesel cars. This means you’ll need less frequent and generally less expensive maintenance like oil changes, engine tune-ups, and transmission repairs.
Finally, many countries offer tax breaks, purchase incentives or grants to further reduce the overall cost of owning and running an electric car.
EV salary sacrifice schemes.
EV salary sacrifice schemes are an increasingly popular way for employees to get behind the wheel of a brand-new electric car at a reduced cost. Salary sacrifice schemes work by allowing employees to sacrifice a portion of their gross salary in exchange for a leased EV, which often includes insurance, maintenance, and other benefits.
This reduces income tax and National Insurance contributions and can significantly reduce the overall cost of owning an EV. This makes it an attractive option for both employees looking to get an EV, and employers looking to offer competitive benefits and show their commitment to sustainability.
Electric vehicle charging costs at home.
Unlike petrol or diesel cars, you can charge electric cars at home. This is cheaper than charging your car at public charging stations and means you don’t need to leave home to get your car up and running.
To help keep costs down, some energy providers offer an EV-focused tariff which offers cheaper electricity costs overnight when your car is charging. For example, our Next Drive tariff offers lower priced electricity between 12am and 7am.3 With this tariff you also get 100% renewable electricity4 and a free 1 year subscription to Zoom EV benefits and discounts.5
If you want to charge your car at home then you can just plug it into the mains, however this means it could take a day or two to charge your electric car. A better option is to install an EV charger. This means you can charge your car faster and use the app to get the benefits of the cheaper overnight charging.
If you’re away from home, download our E.ON Drive Comfort app which makes charging on the go super easy. You get access to over 20,000 UK charge points, real-time charging station info6, flexible payment plans, and 24/7 support - ensuring you’re always powered up, wherever your journey takes you.
3 Lower-priced electricity 6.7p/kWh when you charge between 12am and 7am.
4 Next Drive electricity backed by 100% renewable sources, E.ON's renewable generation assets, agreements with UK generators and the purchase of renewable electricity certificates. The electricity supplied to your home comes from the National Grid. Smart meter required. Exit fees and T&Cs apply.
5 As an E.ON Next customer, you could get a one year’s subscription to Zoom EV. By registering you give consent for your details to be shared with Zoom EV and for Zoom EV to contact you regarding this offer. Zoom EV is a third party vendor and will not share your information with other third parties.
6 Unique real time station scores and recommendations based on performance and where’s busy. In-app charger locations are allocated real time scores based on charger location user experience app data, which includes charger performance, availability and reliability. Highly recommended charger locations are denoted with a 'diamond' symbol.
Cost of using an EV public charging network.
You can find public EV chargers at a number of locations, including motorway services, petrol stations, car parks and shopping centres. Public EV chargers are generally more expensive than charging your electric car at home, but can be a useful way to top up your EV if you’re away from home.
The cost of using public EV charging stations depends on a few factors, including the specific network you use, the speed of the charger, and whether you have any subscriptions to the charger network you’re using. Different networks tend to have their own pricing models. In general, slower chargers will be less expensive per kWh than rapid or ultra-rapid chargers.
Some locations such as supermarkets offer free EV charging, so it’s a good idea to have a look around and see what’s available near you.
You can get more information about public charging.
Cost of taxing your electric car.
If you have or had a petrol or diesel car then you’ll know about the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) or “road tax”. As electric cars don’t emit any CO2, their charge for road tax is £0. This is a great way to save costs as the standard rate of road tax is £155 per year.
This increases as your car gets more expensive. For example a car with a list price of over £40,000 has a £355 surcharge applied to it. So a £45,000 petrol car would cost you £490 a year in road tax.
However this may change as the government has announced that VED charges for electric vehicles will be introduced in 2025.
Cost of insuring your electric vehicle.
According to the RAC, electric vehicle insurance costs are generally more than those of petrol or diesel cars.
The main reasons behind this are that EVs are relatively new, and that their specialised parts and repair processes could be more expensive.
As electric cars become more common though, and insurance companies gather more data, prices for insurance are coming down. Now the main factors for insurance are the price and power of the vehicle and the driver’s age and experience, rather than how the vehicle is powered.
Congestion charge and ULEZ is free with an EV.
One of the many benefits of owning an electric car is that you can drive into low-emission zones, which are becoming more and more common in UK cities, without being charged. London’s ULEZ is included in this.
Plus you can also avoid paying the London Congestion charge, very helpful if you drive into London often.
Electric car servicing costs and maintenance.
Electric car service costs are generally lower than service costs for their petrol and diesel counterparts. As electric vehicles have fewer moving parts than petrol and diesel cars, there’s less that needs to be looked after and maintained.
Plus with regenerative braking, there’s less wear and tear on the brakes which means that the brake discs and pads need to be replaced less often.
Some leasing companies and manufacturers will offer maintenance packages which can help you reduce your EV servicing costs even more. Explore our EV charger options to get started on your journey to EV motoring.
Choose the EV charger to suit you.
The sleek Wallbox Pulsar Max or Vestel EVO4?
Discover our range of chargers and pick the one that suits you and your EV best. They all offer:
£50 discount for E.ON Next customers, T&Cs apply.
Fast 7.4kW charging.1
Standard installation included.
3 year warranty.
Schedule charging with mobile app.2
Voice control with mobile app.2
Premium matte finish.
1 Fast charging devices represent 7kW to 22kW source: Residential chargepoints: minimum technical specification Report August 2023.
2 Voice activation/control and scheduled charging could be achieved using the Wallbox App. The Wallbox App is available through the Apple or Android store. IOS requires iOS 15.0 or later and Android requires Android 8 or later. Geographic and eligibility restrictions apply.