Electric vehicles fact check: most common questions answered

While EVs are generally more expensive to buy, they are cheaper to run than petrol or diesel vehicles. This helps to offset the upfront cost of buying an EV. 

One third of used electric cars cost under £20,000 and some new models cost under £30,000. 

EVs are cheaper to run because: 

• It generally costs less to charge an EV than filling up a petrol or diesel car, especially if you charge at home.  
• Maintenance costs are typically much lower as they have fewer moving parts and fewer parts prone to wearing out over time.
• If you’re buying a new electric car (registered on or after 1 April 2025), you’ll pay a lower vehicle exercise duty rate for the first year.
• You may also be able to take advantage of local incentives for driving an EV. 

No. EVs are fairly cheap to charge, however the cost depends on where you charge. 

Charging an EV at home is significantly cheaper than filling up a petrol or diesel vehicle. On average, EV drivers can save up to £750 a year on fuel costs. 

A full charge at home with in an electric car with a 50kWh battery capacity costs approximately £17, compared to a full tank of petrol, which costs around £45. EVs now have a typical range of around 300 miles.

It’s a bit more expensive when using public chargers, but still cheaper than filling up a petrol or diesel vehicle. It only gets more expensive than petrol when using rapid chargers.  

Here’s a breakdown of the average cost for a full charge:

• Home charging with an EV tariff or other time-of-use tariff (typically requires a smart meter) – £8
• Home charging on a standard tariff – £17
• Public fast charging – £37
• Public rapid charging – £53 

There are now over 70,000 public chargepoints available in the UK, with over 100,000 more chargepoints being installed over the next few years. So you can easily charge on the go. 

If you have space, home chargepoints are also a good option to get the cheapest charging cost, especially when charging overnight. The typical cost of installing a home charge point is around £800-£1200.

EV batteries are expected to last 10-20 years, depending on a number of factors such as how often they are charged or exposed to extreme temperatures.

You can extend the battery life by not fully charging the battery, not letting it get too low on charge and not exposing it to extreme temperatures.  

Data suggests EVs will last as long as a petrol or diesel car.

It’s also getting easier to repair EVs and recycle batteries. 

The average range of a new EV is 236 miles. That’s about two weeks of driving for most people. It’s recommended to take breaks when driving long distances. 

The range of an electric vehicle varies depending on the make, model and weight, as well as other factors such as passengers and cargo onboard and weather. Most battery electric cars have a real-world range of 220 miles on a full charge. Currently the longest range of an EV is 481 miles. 

Yes. Typically, EVs emit less than half of the harmful greenhouse gases of a petrol car during its whole lifetime, including the manufacturing process. They generally break even on carbon emissions after around 17,000 miles (or around two years).  

On the road, EVs emit zero tailpipe emissions, meaning cleaner air for everyone. 

While there are CO2 emissions associated with electricity generation, these emissions are still lower than those from a petrol or diesel vehicle. The amount of renewable-generated electricity will also increase in future, meaning electric vehicles will become even greener.   

No. EVs are 11 times less likely to catch fire than petrol and diesel vehicles.  

Fire services are fully trained and equipped to safely extinguish any fires from EVs. No matter if a petrol or electric vehicle is on fire, it’s recommended you keep your distance. 

EVs are heavier than their petrol and diesel counterparts, causing a bit more wear and tear on roads. However, the shift to larger SUV-type vehicles has increased the size and weight of all vehicles, regardless of fuel.  

Any additional road damage is mostly caused by large vehicles such as buses and heavy goods vehicles. Smaller vehicles make a negligible contribution to road wear and tear. 

EV’s also have special tyres designed to take heavier weight and improve grip. This is in addition to their regenerative braking systems which recover kinetic energy into electricity while providing better grip and traction.