If you’re thinking about taking the plunge into electric car ownership, you’re bound to have hundreds of questions. It’s a big investment and you’ll want to make sure it’s not going to become an expensive mistake. Buying a petrol or diesel model is the safer, familiar option which doesn’t require you to change anything or explain your choice at dinner parties.

But if you’ve got this far, you’ll know there are some big advantages to going electric. Never having to visit a petrol station again and waking up to a full ‘tank’ must appeal. The silence while driving, and of course the environmental benefits. 

But how much does an electric car really cost to run? Are there expenses which the sales staff aren’t telling you about? Will you be able to sell it on in a few years’ time?

Never have to see these again. Unless you need to mow the lawn or buy some charcoal for the barbecue.

Cost of charging an electric car

First, let’s look at the ‘fuel’ costs. If you charge at home on the average domestic electricity rate of 30p/kWh then you’ll be able to travel for about 100 miles for about £8 in a family-sized electric car such as a Citroen eC4. If we assume that a petrol or diesel car of the same size can manage 45mpg and a gallon of fuel is £1.28/litre, then the same journey will cost around £13. Multiply that by 10,000 miles for a year’s motoring and you’ll see that the electric car will be about £500less to fuel per year.

That saving will be eroded if you need to regularly need to charge in public though. There are still some charging points which offer electricity for free, but most need payment of some description. This varies according to the type of charger and the location. An AC charge from the sort of point you’d find in a car park might be only 15-20p/kWh while a rapid (DC) charge at a motorway service station from Gridserve is 69p per kWh. That’s still cheaper than petrol or diesel, but not much. So, it’s best to only use these to get enough juice to get you home, where you can fully charge at a cheaper rate. You’ll spend less on coffee and doughnuts too, as you won’t be hanging around a service station for so long.

Like most things at service stations though, you can get charging for less at a supermarket. Rapid charging at a Tesco or Aldi is about 50p/kW, which is low enough to mean you could get a reasonably-priced 80% charge in 30 minutes while you do a weekend shop. It could make electric car ownership realistic, even if you don’t have off-street parking.

What happens to my electricity bill when I get an electric car?

Unsurprisingly, your electricity bill will be higher when you get an electric car, but it won’t be horrific and will certainly be by less than your fuel bill. There are ways of making sure you can cut the cost further too, by shopping around for the best energy rates. Use a comparison site to check the keenest deals for suppliers, and bear in mind you’re your estimated usage from the previous year isn’t going to be representative of your new needs – look for ways to get the electricity rate per kW/h as low as possible. A higher standing charge with a lower rate per kW/h is the way to go.

When thinking about your bill, it’s worth remembering that some electric cars are more efficient than others too. Just as a big, heavy petrol SUV will use more fuel than a city car, a bigger electric car will need charging more often and for longer than a small hatchback. 

The difference isn’t as noticeable as the cost of running an EV is so much less than a petrol or diesel car. But it’s still worth bearing in mind that a bigger, heavier EV will need to spend longer plugged in and might not be able to get to 100% full in the time slot when your supplier offers the cheapest electric rate.

Charging at home is the usually the cheapest way to fill a battery

How do I get a charge point installed? What do they cost?

If you’re thinking you can get by with just the three-pin plug socket which you usually use for the lawnmower and Christmas lights, forget it. Unless you have a tiny electric car like a Citroen Ami the small amount of electricity you can get through a conventional plug is just not going to be practical for a car you need to use every day. They’re useful in an emergency or if you are going to stay somewhere overnight (on holiday or visiting relatives for example) but you won’t be wanting to use it every day.

So, you’re going to need to get a dedicated charge point installed at your house. Besides being safer and faster, most of the points have tethered cables, which means they’re permanently attached to the charger, so you don’t need to fish them out of your boot every time you want to plug in.

Getting a point installed should be fairly painless, depending on where you want it screwed to your house. If you are buying the car from a dealer, they’ll be able to help guide you through the process, which is normally just handed over to a company such as Evios.

If you’re in rented accommodation or a communal car park, you’re going to have to make some calls to ask permission for the work. Most landlords and management companies will have had some experience of this by now, but don’t expect your neighbours to pay for your car charging from a communal electricity bill. 

It sounds like hassle, but you’ll only need to do it once and then you have your very own filling station on your driveway.

Your very own filling station on your drive. As long as you don't have an ornamental pond in the way.

What about charging at work?

Many employers see the environmental benefit of electric cars or are preparing for the influx of electric cars following the changes to benefit-in-kind taxation. They will usually be happy to invest in chargers in workplace car parks. 

If you’re pushing to have them at your work, it’s worth seeing if there are any grants available to help with the cost. You should also encourage your company to think about dedicated charge points rather than just a series of three-pin sockets. 

If you win the battle, be prepared for some resistance and sniping from other employees who feel bitter that they have to pay for their fuel while you get your car filled up for free while you work. You might have to consider making a contribution to the cost of the energy to placate the water cooler whingers. 

The tax man won’t complain though - the government allows you to charge your car for free at work without having to pay anything to the inland revenue.

As more people get electric cars, there might be a battle for spaces. So, if there is only one charge point in your car park, consider moving your car at lunchtime so other employees and visitors can have a go if they need to.

Finally, don’t just plug in to a socket and start charging your car without clearing it with your employer first. Unless they’ve given you permission, you could be accused of stealing. In the view of the law it could be no different to nicking a few quid from the till every day or filling your pockets with Post-It Note pads and staplers.

Is an electric car worth the money?

There’s no getting away from the fast that electric cars are expensive to buy. Look at the price lists of the most common models and it’s enough to send you running back to a petrol or diesel car. 

But there are things to bear in mind. You’ll need to factor in the fuel cost savings and any other incentives you might pick up locally to you, such as free parking or congestion charge exemption. Also take a look at the finance costs, as electric cars generally hold their value better than a petrol or diesel and that makes lease, PCP or PCH schemes cheaper as you are only paying the money that your car will lose in value while you have it. As it will be worth more when you sell, it costs less per month. So, do some sums and work out what your total cost of ownership will be once everything is taken into account - you might be pleasantly surprised.

But why are electric cars so expensive?

Compared to a conventional car, electric vehicles are really quite simple. While a petrol or diesel has to control and harness thousands of tiny explosions and transfer the power of them to the wheels through a complicated gearbox, an electric car just has a big motor and a battery.

But it is that battery which is the expensive part of that electric car. It uses precious metals and needs specialist manufacturing processes which still aren’t being done on a big enough scale to get costs low – although this is improving.

It means that you need to think about the size of battery you really need for your new electric car. Something with a massive range is going to be much more expensive and heavier than the same car (or a rival) with a smaller power pack. Ask yourself how far you’ll really need to go without stopping and remember most nights it will be filling up while you sleep. If the only long journey you do is to see your gran at Christmas, then you’ll be much better off with a smaller battery which is fine for most of the year and will need charging on the way to your gran’s for 30 minutes. It’ll save thousands on the purchase price and be cheaper to run overall.

Car makers have started to realise this too and are giving up on the constant battle to have the longest range. The Citroen eC4 for example example has a 54kWh battery which will be perfectly acceptable for most drivers.

Insurance

Now that electric cars are a mainstream choice, there’s no problem insuring them in exactly the same way as any other car. The cost does tend to be slightly more expensive on average, possibly because they tend to be faster than a conventional petrol car and need specialist repairers if there’s an accident which damages the battery.

The cost isn’t likely to be prohibitive unless you are a particularly risky driver though.

Insurers are happy to cover electric cars, but prefer it if you don't bend them in half. (Pic credit: Dekra)