EVs avoiding ‘lottery postcode’ suffered by petrol and diesel drivers, says AA

Drivers of electric vehicles are avoiding the ‘lottery postcode’ experienced by owners of petrol and diesel cars when shopping around for fuel.

A new report by the AA has shown that the cost of charging an electric vehicle on the UK’s public charger network has remained frozen since October, whereas the cost of petrol rose by 1.40p per litre, resulting in a full tank of an average-sized car costing £43.

In contrast, EV owners able to access cheap home rates of electricity could charge up for as little as £2.40 for an equivalent-sized car.

The AA compared prices for an 80 per cent refuel of a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2-litre petrol with that of an 80 per cent charge for a Vauxhall e-Corsa.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for The AA, said: “EV drivers will be pleased that they have been protected from ongoing fuel price hikes as the cost of charging remained frozen. The other benefit of driving an electric car is that drivers see the same prices wherever they are, rather than the postcode lottery of pump prices.

“However, the ongoing uncertainty is denying some drivers cheaper running costs. For those who can park on a driveway, install a home charger and set up an EV tariff with their energy supplier, they will usually be quids in.”

A recent report by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that despite a year-on-year fall in prices of petrol, profit margins made by retailers were still rising.

Dan Turnbull, senior director of markets at the CMA, said: “Fuel margins remain at persistently high levels – and our new analysis shows operating costs do not explain this.

“This indicates competition in the sector is weak – if it was working well, drivers could see lower prices at the pump.”