Charging EVs can cost $1,800 more on UK streets vs home – FairCharge

bp EV charging infrastructure

Spending on charging of electric vehicles (EV) on public chargers in the United Kingdom will be 1,515 pounds ($1,854.51) more annually than charging at home, according to an analysis of fees by pro-EV campaign group FairCharge.

The cost to charge an EV on a public network is up to 1,838 pounds annually, compared with 323 pounds annually to charge at home using lower overnight tariffs, Reuters news report said.

FairCharge is campaigning for a change in how public EV charging is taxed in Britain to bring down costs for consumers and encourage investment in charging infrastructure.

Home chargers range in price from about $600 to over $1,000, not including installation, and are often subsidised by carmakers.

Government figures show that around 40 percent of Britain’s 33 million cars park on the street, compared to around 40 percent of Americans do not live in single-family homes with garages.

Carmakers have argued that in return for the hundreds of billions of dollars the auto industry is spending on electrification, the European Union and countries like Britain should focus on building out charging infrastructure to encourage more people to buy EVs and give them the confidence they can find somewhere affordable to recharge.

In Britain a consumption tax of 20 percent is levied on public charging, while consumers at home pay a tax of just 5 percent.

The extra 15 percent tax has been dubbed the “pavement tax” by EV proponents, who argue that scrapping it will boost public support for the transition to zero-emission cars.