It is cheaper to charge your EV at public charging points in the UK than it is to buy fuel at the pumps, according to a new report.
The charging industry body ChargeUK said that using standard public chargers – such as those on streets and in car parks – currently cost 54p per kWh on average, meaning a 15p per mile running cost for a typical EV, compared with 17p per mile for a typical petrol car, and 17.5p per mile for a typical diesel vehicle.
Drivers using an standard chargers 80% of the time and rapid public charging for the remaining 20% would pay around 16p per mile. Only EV drivers exclusively using ultra-rapid public chargers would pay more than drivers filling a petrol or diesel car, at 21p per mile.
ChargeUK used data from Zapmap and the RAC for its analysis, and said that rising petrol and diesel prices due to the war in Iran had made public EV charging a cheaper option for the first time in over a year.
The trend over recent years has been for rising EV charging costs. The average public EV charging price had risen by 38% between 2021 and 2025. ChargeUK wanted the UK Government to keep public EV charging as the cheaper option on a long-term basis.
Vicky Read, chief executive at Charge UK, said: “While this is not how we wanted to see the gap between public EV charging and petrol prices closed, it once again demonstrates the urgent need to make driving an EV more affordable for all. Following news that new electric cars are now cheaper than petrol, the cost of public charging is now the final hurdle for mass EV adoption.
“We need to see government take control of the situation to ensure the numbers stack up not just in a time of global crisis, but for the long term. The cost pressures currently pushing up public EV charging prices are largely within the government’s grasp, whereas the global pressures pushing up petrol and diesel prices are not.
