Cost per mile
| How you fuel it | Price | Cost per mile | 7,000 miles a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| EV, home, overnight EV tariff | about 7p/kWh | 2.2p | £156 |
| EV, home, standard price cap | 26.32p/kWh | 8.4p | £585 |
| EV, public slow or fast charger | about 54p/kWh | 17.1p | £1,200 |
| EV, public rapid charger | about 77p/kWh | 24.4p | £1,711 |
| Petrol car, 45mpg | 174.5p/litre | 17.6p | £1,234 |
| Diesel car, 55mpg | 199.7p/litre | 16.5p | £1,155 |
EV at 3.5 miles per kWh with 10% charging losses. Electricity: Ofgem price cap October to December 2026 and Zapmap public averages. Fuel: UK average pump prices, early October 2026. Work out your own figures with the EV charging cost calculator and the fuel cost calculator.
Where you charge decides everything
With a driveway and an overnight EV tariff, an electric car costs around an eighth of a petrol car per mile. On the standard price cap it is still roughly half. A driver who relies on rapid public chargers can pay more per mile than for petrol. If you cannot charge at home, look at workplace charging, slower public chargers near home, and charging subscriptions, which lower the price per kWh.
Tax and charges
- Vehicle tax: electric cars have paid VED since April 2025: £10 in the first year, then £200 a year, the same standard rate as petrol cars. Electric cars with a list price over £50,000 (registered from April 2026) pay the expensive car supplement. See the car tax calculator.
- Pay-per-mile: the government plans an electric vehicle excise duty of 3p a mile from April 2028 (1.5p for plug-in hybrids). At 7,000 miles a year that is £210.
- Congestion Charge: electric cars now pay, with 25% off on Auto Pay. See the Congestion Charge guide.
- Clean air zones and ULEZ: electric cars are always exempt.
Servicing and repairs
Electric cars have far fewer moving parts: no oil changes, spark plugs, exhaust or clutch. Brake pads also last longer because regenerative braking does much of the work. Tyres can wear faster because EVs are heavier. Overall, servicing is usually cheaper, though some repairs, especially to battery and body damage, can be costly.
Buying price and depreciation
Electric cars usually cost more to buy new, and many lost value quickly in 2023 and 2024 as new EV prices fell. That makes nearly new used EVs good value now, but depreciation is the biggest single cost for most new cars. Estimate it with the depreciation calculator.
Company car drivers
This is where the gap is widest. An electric company car is taxed at 4% benefit-in-kind in 2026/27, against around 30% or more for many petrol cars. On a £40,000 car, a basic-rate taxpayer pays about £320 a year for an EV against more than £2,500 for a petrol car at 32%. Check yours with the company car tax calculator.
The verdict
If you can charge at home, an electric car will almost certainly cost less to run, often over £1,000 a year less in fuel alone. If you cannot, the saving is small or disappears, and the higher purchase price matters more.
Sources
- Ofgem: Energy price cap
- Zapmap: EV charging price index
- GOV.UK: Weekly road fuel prices
- GOV.UK: Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED)
Checked against official sources on 15 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so confirm anything important on GOV.UK. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.