With inflation at its highest in 40 years and public charging costs rising fast, an electric car could cost an average driver without access to off-street parking up to £1,320 per year to ‘fuel’. This is still cheaper than filling up a petrol car, but there is a way owners can top up the batteries for free, according to new research from the experts at Electrifying.com.
Supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsburys, Lidl and Aldi all offer free charging at many stores across the country, which could help to offset the rising cost of food bills. Popular tourist destinations, including many National Trust sites, also offer free charging for visitors.
According to Zap Map, as of June this year, nearly 5,500 of the 35,000 public charge points across the UK were free to use. Scotland, the South East and London were the three areas with the highest number of free electric car chargers, with over 2,600 combined. Lagging behind with just 154 free chargers, it found the North East to be Britain’s stingiest region when it comes to no cost electric top ups.
Ginny Buckley, CEO and co-founder of electrifying.com said: “Electric car ownership should not be a privilege for the more affluent, and if we want to bring everyone along on the electric journey, we need to ensure that the right infrastructure is in place - and at the right price - so that everyone can make the switch with confidence.
“Whether you’re staying overnight at a hotel, visiting a tourist attraction or your local supermarket, there are plenty of free charging points out there.
“Those without off-street parking - which is around one third of drivers nationally - are already paying up to £1,320 each year to charge - this is why we need local authorities right across the country to step up their game when it comes to charging infrastructure.
“While free charging is a brilliant incentive for some businesses, it won’t be a solution for everyone. That’s why I’m calling for VAT on public charge points to be reduced from 20 percent to five percent to bring it in line with the cost of charging at home.
“I would also like to see energy providers introduce cheaper night tariffs at public charge points to help balance the supply grid and benefit those without access to off-street parking.”
Ginny has been at the heart of broadcasting, journalism and cars for over 20 years. She’s a juror and advisor for the World Car of the Year Awards and has driven just about everything… the good, the bad and the ugly, but has now fallen for electric. On the TV front she reports on transport and consumer related issues for the ITV1 flagship current affairs programme ‘Tonight’ and was the launch presenter for ITV’s ‘Men and Motors’ channel, where she produced and presented motoring programmes for many years. Her other on-screen credits include the BBC programmes ‘Holiday’, ‘Escape to the Country’, ‘Crimewatch Roadshow’ and ‘Watchdog’. The first electric car she drove was the VW Golf Citystromer back in 1998. She was very young!
Ginny Buckley
The CEO and founder of electrifying.com, Ginny has been at the heart of broadcasting, journalism and cars for over 20 years. She’s a juror and advisor for the World Car of the Year Awards and has driven just about everything… the good, the bad and the ugly, but has now fallen for electric. On the TV front she reports on transport and consumer related issues for the ITV1 flagship current affairs programme ‘Tonight’ and was the launch presenter for ITV’s ‘Men and Motors’ channel, where she produced and presented motoring programmes for many years. Her other on-screen credits include the BBC programmes ‘Holiday’, ‘Escape to the Country’, ‘Crimewatch Roadshow’ and ‘Watchdog’. The first electric car she drove was the VW Golf Citystromer back in 1998. She was very young!
Electrifying.com is a multi-channel media platform and electric car marketplace fronted by three TV presenters and journalists: founder Ginny Buckley, Nicki Shields and Tom Ford. It was launched in March 2020 after assembling a team of electric car experts with decades of experience in the automotive sector. The site and its social channels have seen rapid growth in viewers and visitors as Britain’s curious, but often baffled consumers seek jargon-free advice about the switch to electric cars.
https://www.electrifying.com