The cost of charging an electric car increases by 42% – with prices almost the same as petrol | UK News

According to RAC, the cost of charging an electric car at public charge points on a pay-as-you-go basis has increased by 42% in just four months.

The car group said the average price for using the chargers has risen by 18.75p per kilowatt-hour (kWh) since May, reaching 63.29p per kWh.

The latest figures show that a driver using only fast or ultra-fast public chargers pays around 18p per mile for electricity, compared to around 19p per mile for petrol and 21p per mile for diesel.

The increase was attributed to rising wholesale costs for gas and electricity.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “It remains the case that off-site charging costs less than filling up a petrol or diesel car, but these figures show that the gap is narrowing due to the huge increase in electricity costs.

“These figures show very clearly that drivers who use public fast and ultra-fast chargers the most are the most affected.”

An AA survey of 12,500 drivers showed that rising domestic energy prices are keeping many people from switching to an electric car.

About 63% of respondents said that the increase in home electricity bills is a contributing factor to their sticking with petrol or diesel models, while 10% said it was the “main reason”.

AA road policy chief Jack Cousens said: “With domestic energy prices soaring, drivers can be forgiven for believing that switching to an electric vehicle will quickly become expensive.

“However, the reality is that despite the increase in domestic electricity costs, running an electric vehicle is significantly cheaper than a petrol or diesel car.”

Electric car sales are declining

With the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans set to be banned in the UK from 2030, Mr Cousens said the Government must “keep a close eye on how energy prices will affect the transition to electrification”.

Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that the rapid increase in sales of new pure electric cars has slowed in recent months.

The number of registrations in the first three months of the year was 102% higher than in the same period of 2021.

By the end of August, the year-to-date increase had fallen to 49%.