UK fuel prices make electric vehicles up to nine times cheaper per mile

It is now up to nine times cheaper to drive an electric vehicle than a petrol or diesel car in the UK due to surging fossil fuel prices. Diesel and petrol prices have risen sharply since February, with diesel expected to exceed £2 per litre following a strike on Russia's Kapotnya oil refinery.

Since February, the average price of diesel has increased by 38% to £1.96 a litre. Petrol prices have surged by 31% to £1.72. Some petrol stations were charging close to £2 per litre. Oil moved above $100 a barrel, a roughly 50% increase from June, due to conflicts involving Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia. Russia, the world's second-largest diesel exporter, has seen its refineries hit every three days on average in the first half of 2026.

Electric vehicles offer significant cost savings

Charging an EV at home costs as little as 2.3p per mile on off-peak tariffs. This makes it up to nine times cheaper than driving petrol or diesel cars. The cost per mile for fossil fuel vehicles is now significantly higher.

Charging an EV at the domestic price cap costs around 7p per mile, which is still three times cheaper than petrol or diesel. Compared with average pump prices, it would cost as little as 20p for an equivalent amount of electricity using off-peak charging. Charging at the household price cap would only cost the equivalent of 60p per litre. UK drivers could save around £80 by charging an EV at home compared to filling up a petrol car over the same distance.

EV adoption growing but remains low

Despite rising savings, only 6% of the roughly 35 million cars on UK roads are fully electric battery EVs. A further 3% are plug-in hybrids. Petrol cars still dominate, making up 55% of vehicles.

Adoption is growing, however. Around 30% of new cars sold in August were battery EVs, up from 26.5% in August 2025. Separate analysis in June suggested UK EV drivers were saving £1,100 a year in fuel costs compared to petrol car drivers. Following the latest fuel price hike, these savings would now be even higher at roughly £1,200 a year.

Home charging dominates and future costs loom

Most EV charging happens at home. The UK government estimates that around 76% of EV charges take place domestically, as around 90% of electric car drivers have access to home charging.

Future costs are set to change. The energy regulator's October cap change was expected to lift electricity unit rates by under 1%. A sharper rise of about 20% is forecast for January 2027. Also, the UK government plans to introduce a pay-per-mile tax on EVs from April 2028, adding 3p per mile to the cost of driving an electric vehicle.