We've known for a long time that EVs are cheaper to run than petrol cars, provided you can make the most of cheap domestic electricity tariffs. But what about if you can't charge easily at home? Well, even then, electric vehicles are now cheaper to run than their petrol equivalents according to the findings of charging provider Be.EV, which has launched a new subscription plan for its street chargers that could see you paying just 39p per kWh.
The Be.EV network has a range of chargers across the country, but is primarily focused on the Manchester area, with a range of ultra-rapid, rapid and slower on-street charge points. It's backed by energy firm Octopus, though, and says it has 1,000 new charge points on the way across the UK to boost the 800 it currently runs.
The new subscription plan from Be.EV offers two tiers – £4.99 a month and 49p/kWh charging or £9.99 a month and 39p/kWh charging. If you don’t want to pay for a subscription, the company offers its ultra-rapid hubs at 39p/kWh between 7pm and 7am.
The new tariff isn’t about boosting its business, says Be.EV, but about tackling inequality. Company CEO Asif Ghafoor has strong opinions on the inequality between EV drivers with home charging and those without: “For too long, EV charging in the UK has been built for the privileged few with a driveway,” he says.
“Those who rely on public charging – often people in flats, terraced housing, or busy urban centres – are forced to pay much more than those who can plug-in at home. That’s not just unfair, it’s a barrier to mass adoption.”
So how are EVs cheaper to run than petrol cars?
Be.EV is comparing the most average cars on the market at the most average prices. It says rapid and ultra-rapid chargers in the UK cost 76p/kWh to charge, and that EV efficiency is 3.3mpkWh – on average. That means it costs 23p a mile to run an EV without charging at home. Running the same calculations with a 39p/kWh cost to charge and that means 12p per mile to run the car.
If you look at the same thing with an average petrol car, running at 36mpg and paying £1.34 a litre for unleaded, that works out at 17p per mile to run.
A study last month by comparison website Compare the Market said that EV owners were saving hundreds of pounds a year over petrol drivers when factoring in insurance, tax and other running costs – but only if they had charging at home. The new scheme from Be.EV offers hope that a charging provider ‘price war’ could make electric vehicles cheaper to run even for those without the capacity to charge at home.
Electrifying.com founder Ginny Buckley welcomes the new scheme from Be.EV but says more can be done to help EV drivers: “Government figures show that 27% of drivers don’t have the option of charging from home, that’s making EV ownership more challenging and more expensive for one in four drivers. Be.EV’s new subscription plan is a smart move that will benefit drivers in Manchester – my home city – who rely on public charging. Let’s hope it’s rolled out more widely across the UK. However, the government could and should go further by cutting VAT on public charging to bring it in line with home charging, helping to level up the inequality even more.”
Cutting VAT for public charging would help EV drivers, says Ginny 
