Summary
The cost to charge an electric car in the UK varies between home, work and public charging.
For a typical electric car with a 60kWh battery and ~200 mile range:
- Charging at home: Costs about £15.10 for a full charge. *
- Charging at work: Many employers will install workplace charging points and typically offer free access throughout the day.
- Charging at public locations: Public chargepoints at supermarkets or car parks are often free to use for the duration of your stay.
- Rapid charging: Rapid charging points are normally found at motorway service stations and typically cost £6.50 for a 30 min, ~90 mile charge. **
* Costs calculated at 28p/kWh based on usable battery is ~54kWh (90%).
** Charging at 50kW, receiving 3.5 miles per kWh. Assumes tariff of 26p/kWh applicable to most Pod Point rapid chargers.
| Battery size | Approximate “real-world” electric range | Cost to fully charge* | Cost per mile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nissan LEAF (2018) | 40 kWh | 168 miles | £11.20 | 6.67p |
| Tesla Model S 100D | 100 kWh | 388 miles | £28.00 | 7.22p |
| Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (2019) | 13.8 kWh | 28 miles | £3.86 | 13.8p (electric mode**) |
* You can calculate the cost to fully charge your own car by using the formula:
Tariff (e.g. 28p/kWh) * Battery size (e.g. 100kWh) / 100 = Cost to fully charge (e.g. £28.00).
** Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is a plug-in hybrid – this is the cost per mile, when running solely on electric power.
Don’t see the model you were looking for in this table? Browse other EVs here.
Cost to charge an electric car at work
The cost of charging an electric car at work can vary between organisations with some choosing to provide free charging while others set a paid tariff.
- Some employers offer free charging as a staff incentive.
- Others opt for a time-based tariff to encourage sharing of charging stations.
- Another model is to offer free employee charging for a set period of time and a fee after this time to encourage employees to vacate charging spaces.
