Electric car owners are paying over 20 times more to charge their vehicles in public compared to plugging in at home, according to a major new study.
Analysis from EV and fuel experts Allstar has revealed major variances in costs with those using street charging caught out.
According to the data, the average cost of home charging stands at 28 pence per kWh, down 3p since the summer.
However, there are major differences in domestic pricing with the highest recorded costs at 50p per kWh.
On the other end of the scale, some motorists are paying just 4p per kWh to top up their vehicles.
Meanwhile, using a public on-street charging device will set owners back 70p per kWh on average.
The lowest figure stood at 17p per kWh but some motorists were paying a whopping £1.20 per kWh to top up.
Between the lowest at-home rate of 4p and the highest on-street rate of £1.20, motorists are paying over 20 times more.
According to the analysis, the cost to charge a vehicle in public has also increased by 3p since the summer.
Ashley Tate, MD, Allstar Chargepass UK said motorists could make “significant savings” if they always plug in while at home.
He commented: “As an industry, we are collectively migrating to alternative power for vehicles which is a huge moment in the history of mobility.
“With that comes plenty of questions around the various running costs, so we’ve harnessed our proprietary data to provide clear insights and help drivers get a better understanding of real-life costs of electric vehicle charging, petrol and diesel.
“For those that are opting for EVs, our inaugural edition has shown the clear cost benefits of charging at home.
“While we understand that this isn’t an option available for everyone, where possible drivers could make significant savings by charging at home compared to those using public charge points.”
The data for the analysis was collected using hundreds of thousands of charges through the Allstar network.
As well as increased costs, those topping up at home will also pay less tax due to differing VAT rates.
The ‘pavement tax’ means home charging will incur just a five percent VAT fee compared to 20 percent at a public bay.
