Britons are expected to spend around £340million on petrol costs this Christmas, with the average motorist driving 147 miles to get home for the festive period.
Petrol drivers will spend an average of £17.87 to make the journey home for the holidays, costing a collective £340million for motorists.
The majority of Britons will hit the roads between December 23 and December 26, with more than 5.6 million people planning to make a journey on Boxing Day to visit friends and family.
However, Sunday, December 17 is expected to be the quietest day, with just two per cent of motorists travelling home for festivities.
The average driver will travel 147 miles to get home this Christmas
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Almost two-thirds of drivers say they are worried about the price of petrol and diesel at a time when the cost of motoring is nearing record levels.
Car insurance premiums, car tax costs and fees from Clean Air Zones are all having an impact on Britain’s 37 million drivers.
Some experts have highlighted how drivers could be saving almost 50 per cent on their journey home for Christmas with an electric car.
Using a standard variable tariff, drivers would need to pay just £10.24 for a trip of around 150 miles, according to OVO.
Mat Moakes, Chief Commercial Officer at OVO said: “Our research shows EVs are a more cost and carbon-effective way to travel, even if you need to top up at a public charging point along the way. And we need to reward people for making the switch to EVs and green technology.
“OVO’s Charge Anytime rate means EV drivers can smart-charge at home for just 7p per kWh rate, at any time of day or night.
“This year alone, it’s already saved customers £3.8million and helped avoid 127 tonnes of carbon.”
Using a Charge Anytime rate of 7p per kWh rate, motorists would pay seven times less than petrol, spending only £2.67 for 147.1 miles.
Experts at OVO claim that if all drivers were to switch to an EV-friendly tariff for Christmas, UK motorists would save more than £290million collectively.
Mark Lewis, a Charge Anytime customer, said he uses an electric car to drive a 65-mile round commute to his teaching job, and is set to travel over 300 miles over Christmas.
After he ditched his petrol car in 2022, he has saved £4,500 on fuel costs and is expecting to save hundreds of pounds when travelling this Christmas too.
Speaking about his experience with an electric car, he said: “I’m going to be Santa Claus this Christmas. Travelling back and forth to drop off presents for family and friends, I’ll be driving over 300 miles in total.
“But this isn’t a financial burden, because I’ve got access to such cheap charging rates.
“It makes me more willing to do the driving to keep in touch with people because my EV is so much cheaper to run than a petrol or diesel car.”
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Some EV drivers could save almost seven times more than petrol motorists
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At the end of November 2023, there were more than 53,000 electric vehicle charging points across the UK – a 46 per cent increase compared to the same time last year.
This comes as the UK has installed its 10,000th rapid and ultra-rapid public EV charging point, with the Government praising the development of the national charging network.