So it’s going to work out cheaper to run petrol/diesel cars than it is electric

[RudsyFarmer]

My engineer DP predicted this exact scenario when he replaced our old petrol/diesel cars with newer petrol/diesel cars. Plus there is now a supply issue with batteries which is going to cause a huge issue down the line.

Honestly it’s a scandal that these new cars are hugely expensive. People have locked into lease/hire agreements that are costing a fortune per month and now running the bloody things are going to be exorbitant.

No. People with EVs have EV tariffs which are super cheap overnight. We have one. 7.5kwH per unit overnight. It's still only £6 or something to charge.

Of course they will most likely increase a bit, although ours is fixed for a year and still being offered at that rate, but they would have to increase massively to equal petrol or diesel costs.

Do you have a link Op? Just wondering what the calculations are?

You should really fact check before you post such nonsense, even if your dh is an engineer.

We tow frequently round the country for a sporting event. Batter powered cars are not going to work for us.

It's just irresponsible reporting as not one article I've read has mentioned the fact that anyone who has an EV and has a brain will be on an EV tariff. No one should be charging their EV at peak daytime prices at home when almost every provider (Octopus, British Gas, Bulb and Eon do at least) has specific tariffs for EV charging that are a fraction of the cost. You can even set your car up to automatically charge between those times.

Your DH is chatting nonsense. 7.5p per KWH overnight.

Electricity would have to increase to a ridiculous cost to even near the cost of petrol. My overnight EV tariff costs 7.5p/kwh. Average use, a kwh in my small car gives me 4-5 miles. I can ‘fill’ my car from flat overnight (not that anyone generally lets it get so low) and get 150 miles for about £3.00. Average per-gallon cost is around £6.48. Assuming an average car will do around 50 miles on a gallon, we’re still talking nearly £20 for the same amount of fuel provided.

Your engineer DH didn’t realise there’s different rates for EV charging?

Still cheaper than petrol and diesel.

Besides which, I got a self charging hybrid and charge it at the office. Saves quite a bit of petrol. And saved a fortune in BIK tax.

Bonus of EV tariffs too is that it counts for anything done during that time so you can have all your appliances going at the super cheap rate. Our cheap rate starts at 9.30pm so we stick a wash, tumble dry and dishwasher on then and it's a tiny cost v during the day. So you save money elsewhere too.

Even at the current cap electricity is £0.50 per kWh, so a £46k Polestar with a 78kWh battery will be less than £40 to charge, and get you around 240 miles. So 16p or so per hour. Charge overnight and it’ll be a quarter of that.

Meanwhile a £40k petrol C Class Mercedes has 66 litre tank that will cost £110 to fill at the current £1.67 a litre for unleaded. That’ll get you a real world range of 359 miles, or 32p a mile. Electricity could double again, and maybe it will, and still be no more expensive than petrol. And charged over night it would need to quadruple. So no need to panic yet ;)

The phasing out of petrol/diesel cars was not driven by running costs though.

Your engineer DP isn’t very bright then.

Agree. Time to trade him in for a smarter model along with your petrol/diesel car.

I think this is based on an article in the Telegraph which itself quotes figures from the RAC. Here is an example Twitter thread looking at the figures in some detail.

It looks as if the RAC may have based their calculation on a car being charged at the most expensive public charging rates, and then factored in a significant rate increase (which is likely as energy prices rise). Some EV drivers can't charge at home and take advantage of the cheap nighttime tariffs because they don't have off-road parking. But these drivers would typically:

• leave their car on slower (and cheaper) chargers intended for overnight charging
• have a subscription to reduce the cost of rapid charging
• know which charging networks are cheaper than others

They may also be able to charge at work or whilst the car is parked during the day, again at lower rates.

So it's not clear this is going to stand up to scrutiny - so unusual for an article in the Telegraph 🙄

Wonder what the cost to charge an EV will be when they have got rid of all the competition.

Can’t get this with Octopus as ours starts at 00.30. Who are you with?

Your boyfriend is talking bollocks.

@Poppyliveshere It's called Octopus Go Faster. Just message them to swap and you can choose your four or five hour window from 9.30pm all through the night. I DM'd on Twitter and they emailed me the form.

FAKE NEWS

Nonsense. Absolute nonsense. We have had an EV for years and I can assure you even with the price increases, it’s significantly cheaper and more efficient. As PP pointed out there are overnight tariffs.

Fact check before you sprout rubbish on the internet. Please do send over hehe calculations so a genuine engineer who runs an EV can critique them. That’s me, by the way 🙄

@Poppyliveshere I’m on Octopus Go Faster, 4 hours cheap from 23:30 as that is better for charging my house battery overnight. We put the washing machine and dishwasher on timers overnight, but I gather some people don’t like to do that. You can have a start time of 21:30 with Go Faster.

Don’t seem to have the option of Octopus Go 🤔 What are your rates?

*Sorry, I mean Octopus Go Faster

I agree with all the above.....we charge our car at 4.5p with EDF (which is fixed until 2024) and use the cheap electric for dishwasher and washing machine on timers every night.

He doesnt know what he's talking about and is scaremongering.