Electric Vehicles in the UK. Charging, Running Costs & EV Tariffs Explained
Electric vehicles can seem straightforward until you start looking into actually owning one. Then you come across different charger speeds, home charging, public charging networks, battery sizes, electricity tariffs and questions about how much an EV really costs to run.
You don’t need to understand everything about electric cars before considering one. A good place to start is with four things: how EV chargers work, what you need to charge at home, how running costs compare with petrol, and whether an EV electricity tariff could make charging cheaper.
EV chargers explained
Not every EV charger charges a car at the same speed.
The amount of power a charger can deliver is normally measured in kilowatts, or kW. Generally, the higher the power available and the more power the vehicle can accept, the faster the battery can charge.
You’ll commonly come across slower and fast chargers used at homes and destinations, alongside much more powerful rapid and ultra-rapid chargers designed for quicker charging during journeys.
But a charger displaying a high maximum power doesn’t mean every electric car will charge at that speed. The vehicle itself has a maximum charging rate, and charging speed can also change depending on factors such as the battery’s state of charge and temperature.
This is why charging an EV isn’t quite like filling a petrol tank. Sometimes you want a quick charge during a journey. Other times, leaving the car plugged in for several hours at home is perfectly practical.
The Energy Saving Trust guide to charging electric vehicles provides more information about the different ways EVs can be charged.
Charging an EV at home
For drivers who have suitable off-street parking, home charging can be one of the most convenient ways to own an electric vehicle.
Instead of waiting until the battery is nearly empty, you can plug the car in when you’re home and let it charge while it’s parked.
A dedicated home chargepoint will commonly be the practical option for regular home charging. How quickly it charges your particular vehicle depends on the charger, the car and the electricity supply available to the property.
There are also smart chargers, which can schedule charging for particular times. That becomes especially useful if your electricity tariff offers cheaper electricity during certain off-peak hours.
Home charging isn’t equally straightforward for everyone. Someone living in a house with a driveway has a very different situation from someone living in a flat or parking on the street.
There is currently government support available for some home charging situations. For example, eligible renters and flat owners can receive up to £500 towards installing an EV chargepoint, and there is also support for eligible households with on-street parking. The schemes currently run until 31 March 2027, subject to their eligibility requirements. You can check the current electric vehicle chargepoint grants on GOV.UK.
EV vs petrol running costs
This is where comparisons can become misleading if they’re reduced to simply saying that an EV is cheaper or a petrol car is cheaper.
The answer depends on which vehicles you’re comparing and how they’re used.
For an EV, the cost of driving is influenced by its efficiency, electricity price and where you charge.
For a petrol car, it depends on fuel economy and the price of petrol.
Charging location can make a particularly large difference to an EV’s running cost. Home electricity and public rapid charging can have very different prices.
For some current context, HMRC’s advisory rates from September 2026 use 7p per mile for home-charged electric company cars and 15p per mile for public charging. These aren’t universal ownership-cost figures, but they demonstrate how strongly charging location can affect the electricity cost per mile.
Energy Saving Trust similarly notes that charging costs depend on the vehicle, battery and where it’s charged, with home charging generally costing less than fast or rapid public charging in its current examples.
And energy isn’t the only cost of owning a vehicle.
When comparing an EV and petrol car properly, consider:
Purchase price, finance, insurance, servicing, maintenance, depreciation, tax and energy or fuel costs.
That’s why comparing only the price of one charge with the price of one tank of petrol doesn’t tell you the full story.
For the energy side of the comparison, SaveAmp’s EV vs Petrol Cost Calculator can help you compare vehicles using your own mileage, fuel economy, electricity rate and fuel price.
What is an EV tariff?
If you plan to charge an electric car at home, your electricity tariff becomes much more important.
Some energy suppliers offer EV tariffs or time-of-use tariffs with cheaper electricity during particular periods, often overnight when demand on the electricity system is lower.
That can allow you to schedule the car to charge during cheaper hours rather than immediately when you arrive home.
But the cheapest EV charging rate doesn’t automatically mean it’s the cheapest tariff for your whole household.
You should also look at:
The normal daytime electricity rate
How many cheap charging hours you receive
The off-peak rate
The standing charge
Any eligibility requirements
Whether the tariff works with your car or charger
Most importantly, think about how much electricity your whole home uses, not just your EV.
A household that moves a large amount of EV charging into cheap overnight hours could benefit differently from one that uses a lot of electricity during more expensive periods.
Energy Saving Trust also recommends comparing electricity tariffs when charging at home and notes that EV and other time-of-use tariffs can reduce charging costs where charging can be shifted into cheaper periods.
So there isn’t one best EV tariff for everyone. The better question is which tariff fits your vehicle, mileage, charging routine and household electricity use.
Start with how you would actually use an EV
Before deciding whether an electric vehicle suits you, think about your normal driving rather than an ideal situation.
How many miles do you usually drive?
Can you charge at home?
How often would you rely on public charging?
When is your car normally parked?
What electricity tariff could you use?
And what would the EV you’re considering cost compared with the petrol alternative you would realistically buy?
Once you know those things, EV ownership becomes much easier to understand.
You don’t need to decide that electric or petrol is universally better. You need to understand which option works better for the way you actually drive and what it would cost you.
