Drivers urged to save £1,800 a year by ditching petrol and diesel vehicles and switching to electric

Drivers urged to save £1,800 a year by ditching petrol and diesel vehicles and switching to electric

WATCH: AA President Edmund King on electric cars

GB NEWS
Felix Reeves

By Felix Reeves


Published: 24/04/2024

- 12:54

'Going electric is the only way to escape the spiral of rising fuel prices and control car costs'

Switing to an electric vehicle could help motorists save as much as £1,800 a year as petrol and diesel costs continue to soar.

Experts have recently issued warnings to drivers as fuel prices rose above 150p per litre for the first time since November last year.


Drivers visiting petrol stations around England, Scotland and Wales can expect to pay just over £1.50 a litre for unleaded petrol and around 158.3p for diesel.

Motorists who need to buy super unleaded or premium diesel will generally be hit with a 13p and 16p hike respectively, while motorway service stations are charging more than 20p more than average prices.

Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailingmotoring@gbnews.uk

Home electric vehicle charger

When using a smart EV-friendly tariff, drivers could save more than £1,000 a year

GETTY

Britons tend to spend around £1,400 a year on fuel, and with rising prices at the pumps, this total will only continue to grow.

In comparison, the energy price cap has been lowered by £238 for the average household to £1,690, massively benefitting those who have an EV-friendly tariff and a home charger.

New data has estimated that drivers could save around £110 a month, or £1,320 a year when switching to an electric car from a petrol vehicle.

Similarly, transitioning from a diesel car to an EV could save £1,200 a year, while SUV owners would make the most savings at around £150 a month or £1,787 a year.

This is down to the lack of additional running costs associated with electric vehicles that other ICE vehicles would need to pay.

EV owners can avoid paying out for serious maintenance costs, Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) until next year and avoid charges from the London Ulez and Clean Air Zones around the UK.

Scott Martin, group electric vehicle specialist at Dick Lovett, highlighted the cost savings on offer and how drivers could switch to save money.

He said: “With the cost-of-living crisis a concern for our customers, we’re committed to finding ways to lower the running costs of the cars we sell.

“Our research found drivers can save a significant amount of money each month by switching to an EV and charging at home, which also appeals to car brands under pressure from the Government to promote electric cars for environmental benefits.

“Going electric is the only way to escape the spiral of rising fuel prices and control car costs."

If people cannot access or install a home EV charger, they are still able to save as much as £775 for every 10,000 miles by using slower chargers.

Even those relying solely on public chargers can save between £188 and £273 a year by using a slow charger rather than having a fuel-powered car.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

A petrol pump

Petrol and diesel prices are continuing to rise to levels not seen since November last year

PA

According to Zapmap, there are almost 60,000 chargers around the UK, with 2,300 new devices added to its database in the last month alone.

This included the installation of more than 1,650 slow and fast chargers, 172 rapid devices and 470 ultra-rapid charging stations.

You may like