Electric Cars Are Now Up to Nine Times Cheaper to Drive Than Petrol in the UK
Meanwhile EVs went from 1 in 100 new cars to 1 in 5 in Turkey in just a few years.
Charging an electric car at home overnight in the UK now costs a fraction of filling a tank, according to a new Carbon Brief analysis.
Cost per mile
- Diesel: about 21p per mile
- Petrol: about 20.1p per mile
- EV, off-peak home charging: about 2.3p per mile
- EV, peak-rate charging: about 7p per mile
At off-peak rates, that is roughly nine times cheaper than petrol or diesel.
Turkey's fast switch
Turkey shows how quickly the shift can happen. Electric cars went from about 1 in 100 new car sales in 2022 to about 1 in 5 today, according to Our World in Data. A 2023 tax break, the domestic Togg brand and cheaper imports drove the growth.
The bigger picture
WWF's new Living Planet Report notes that EVs made up more than a quarter of global new car sales in 2024, part of what its lead author called a "positive tipping point" in the energy system.
Source: Carbon Brief
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