Cost of charging an EV
I'll just throw this in for a bit of fun.
Per the Sunday Times motoring correspondent last Sunday, it is now more expensive to charge an EV at a "fast" public charging point (if you can find one that's working) mile for mile than it is to use diesel. Speculating that if HMG wish to pursue this nonsense of 2030, they will have to come up with some sort of help for EV users.
Its OK for those with home chargers (providing you don't drive far from home), or those using overnight trickle chargers as fitted to lamp posts somewhere in the UK (probably London - haven't seen any around here).
Fact also quoted: 31 million ICE cars currently on the road, 510,000 ev's. VW group (incl Audi and Porsche) are spending big bucks on developing engines running on bio fuels - as per F1 from 2026. Audi are signing up to F1 with a comment that they see bio fuels as the way forward for the masses. I can't help thinking that Carrie Johnson has jumped in far too quickly with the EV idea, hopefully the new Government will see sense and extend the deadline to a more realistic target.
Comments
-
This story has been picked up by a number of outlets, and has very much been cherry picked for numbers.
Just for some real data.
My car does about 3 miles per kWh (its not super efficient). An Ionity charger is 69p / kWh, resulting in 23p per mile. at £1.79 a litre - thats 35mpg. Not bad for a 400hp AWD car. But realistically, I don't pay 69p. I have a free subscription with the car for that charger at 30p per mile - 80mpg equiv.
However, I almost never charge out and about - its all at home. 30p per kWh is easy, but with a night time tariff, its 7.5p, 322mpg equivalent.
Now - not everyone can charge at home - thats very true - but well over 2/3rds of households can.
As for bio-fuel - thats already here - its very expensive as it competes with food for land to be grown on. For synthetic fuel, it uses electricity as a base ingredient. Developing engines is not much use without having the fuels available at scale.
The energy crisis is real in so far as we are all experiencing it. But the answer is not to shy away from electricity, but to embrace it from renewable energy sources.
1 -
Now - not everyone can charge at home - thats very true - but well over 2/3rds of households can.
Maybe of the 510,000 current EV users they can. Very selective comment. When we are all forced into this crazy project, it is "estimated" that less than a 3rd of users will be able to charge at home. And where is all the electric coming from ? New Nuclear won't be here in my lifetime, but the greens seem hell bent on carpeting the land and sea with windmills. Its fine in the remote areas of France etc - but in this overcrowded island, do we really want these eyesores?
In the same paper, houses for sale, there was a croft on an isolated Scottish island with around 50 acres, for circa £600,000. Tellingly, the advert stated that the croft also has 2 windmills, generating annual income of £150,000, but being sold seperately not as part of the house sale. This tells you where all our "green" taxes go. For £75k per annum, I'd have one in my garden.
If HMG are really serious about the net zero project, they should start by putting appropriate infrastructure in place before forcing their vanity projects on the public. The only way they have even reached 510,000 EV's is by tax give aways and concessions, funded by the rest of us, many of whom cannot benefit from those concessions.
1 -
For the record, Nutsy, I chose to buy an EV for various reasons because it suits me and my lifestyle. I didn't get it particularly for 'green' reasons and I received not a single penny from the Govt/tax payers either towards its purchase or the installation of the charger.
You seem to now be drifting well away from the cost of charging EVs and into a political discussion.
3 -
Sure - but given I do about 12K-15K miles a year and only 1000 to 1600 towing, its a small amount.
Others may have other levels of usage.
0 -
Nutsy, according to the DfT paper from Feb 2022, (page 8 section 2.1) just under a quarter (24%) of UK households don't have access to off road parking. Thats all households, not EV households. Government numbers, not mine.
Electricity is not an issue. The UK peak usage was in 2010, we have been using less and less as a country since then. Sure - if everyone tried to plug in and charge at peak busy hour (5pm to 8pm) we would push the generation infrastructure, but given there is a 10GW gap between peak and offpeak, we can use that excess generation.
I would far rather have wind farms (on and off shore) over nuclear and gas. Especially as it will lower bills. I have bought into a windfarm. Just south of Ayr. When its up and generating (Nov '23) my share will generate enough electricty for my household for the year.
Almost all the infrastructure for EVs is now privately funded and owned, just like traditional fuel stations. The government are seeding the market with cars to create a used pool that can be passed on as time goes by. Not everyone will want or buy a brand new EV. Many people never buy brand new cars. That's fine. The 2nd hand market for ICE vehicles will still be operating long after 2030. In the mean time, the price of EVs (compared to ICE) is slowly falling, and it wont be long until they are the same. People will vote with their wallets.
0 -
I have a 1.0l Kia Picanto on the drive that my daughter is learing to drive in. That has £0 VED too. And so was my previous Volvo V60 D6 2.5L PHEV. £0 VED is not constrained to EVs only.
2 -
Nutsy, Hinkley Point C comes on line in 2027, only five years to go...
No-one seems to worry that they haven't got a petrol pump by their front door, hopefully the bigger charging stations will return a feeling of security as EVs and the infrastrutcure improve.
You quoted VW Nutsy but most manufacturers are aiming for all electric, the list is long.
2 -
As ChocT said, it’s not just EV's and I think my diesel MH contributes handsomely with VED and fuel duty. I am also realistic enough to realise the Govt will find a way to tax EVs before too much longer.
I'm happy to embrace the future. Try it and see.
1 -
It's a shame you missed out on the grants TW.....
After driving EV pool cars in work and realising how much more pleasant they were to drive than an ICE, I ordered an EV last November from the VW group and collected it two weeks ago.
I got the government grant for the car, the government grant for the home charger, pay no road tax, currently get free charging at work, but if/when I have to charge at home I will use Economy 7 night rate with only 5% VAT.
I find that letting the taxpayer fund a good slice of my motoring costs has made it even more pleasurable.....
0 -
The car we bought was outside the scope of the grant after they lowered the upper price limit and the charger grant was in its final days. No matter. 🤷🏻♂️
I'm lucky enough not to go to work any more and not even the promise of free charging would tempt me back.😛
Luckily, we're on a fixed rate lekky deal at home until the end of next year so it’s not costing much to charge. About £13 for 170 miles at the last check. Once the fixed deal ends, I think lekky will probably be free for all the way things are going😄
1 -
Public charging is becoming very expensive. 0.69KWh and similar.
Not so bad if you can do it at home, particularly if you lock into a good overnight EV tariff.
0
