Cost & tax

Is an electric car cheaper than petrol in the UK?

Short answer

Usually yes if you charge at home off-peak, often only marginally if you rely on public rapids, the tariff decides it.

Full answer

There's no single yes/no. For running cost, the deciding factor is where you charge.

Charging at home on an off-peak EV tariff, an EV is dramatically cheaper per mile than a 40 mpg petrol car. On the standard electricity rate the gap narrows. Relying only on public rapid charging, an EV can end up barely cheaper, and we'll tell you so plainly.

From the 2028/29 tax year a 3p/mile road charge is expected to apply to EVs, which we include as an option. Every car page computes your monthly cost now and from 2028 against a petrol comparator, and gives an honest verdict, including "this may not save you money" when that's what the numbers say.

Every figure in this answer is computed by the physics model. See how it works