Travel using rapid chargers is dearer than using a diesel?

[Cocijo]

With the high cost of rapid chargers in many areas it’s actually dearer to travel with an EV than with a good average MPG diesel car. The EV charging prices are ridiculous in some areas of the UK - some charging 64p/kwh.
Using £5.60 per gal and averaging 50mpg a diesel will cost 11p/mile for fuel. Anything over about 33p/kwh with consumption of 3mpk means that it costs more to charge your electric car. And that’s without the issues of broken chargers, annual fees and poor service. This shouldn’t be the case. Rapid charging prices need to fall dramatically.

 

[jamesie]

With the high cost of rapid chargers in many areas it’s actually dearer to travel with an EV than with a good average MPG diesel car. The EV charging prices are ridiculous in some areas of the UK - some charging 64p/kwh.
Using £5.60 per gal and averaging 50mpg a diesel will cost 11p/mile for fuel. Anything over about 33p/kwh with consumption of 3mpk means that it costs more to charge your electric car. And that’s without the issues of broken chargers, annual fees and poor service. This shouldn’t be the case. Rapid charging prices need to fall dramatically.

Agree with you, but.....

The total cost of ownership is different than just fuel costs.

Also, there are various ways to reduce rapid charging costs. e.g. a Chargeplace Scotland card at £20p.a. gives me largely no cost charging throughout Scotland. Other memberships exist.

It's not as easy as just looking at the cost of fuel.

 

[Cocijo]

It is much cheaper in Scotland at the moment. I hope that it continues.

 

[AbuG]

Its the weakly populated infrastructure and then poor reliability within that infrastructure, that drives prices up unfortunately.
Once that infrastructure improves to the level of fossils, pricing monopolies will be broken as a result of competitive market pricing.

Also the fact that prices are high, drives companies to invest in them too.

 

[Cocijo]

Do we think that we’ll supermarkets like Tesco. Sainsbury invest in their own chargers anytime soon? Like they did with petrol.

 

[AbuG]

Maybe with some government incentives otherwise they will be late to the party as usual.

It's catch 22.... The EV cars are relatively few because the infrastructure is not satisfactory.... Infrastructure investment is little because the demand is not there, as few EV cars.

Since people can refuel at home...the demand of local supermarkets to have rapid chargers is minimal.

Way it should be sold to supermarkets are that it will increase footfall to their restaurants (after lockdown) as drivers have to wait 40 mins for a recharge. The problem though people can buy sandwiches of the self at supermarkets.

Hence motorway outlets and restaurants is where the greatest demand for Rapids will be, especially with EV fleets.

 

[Cocijo]

Yes - good points. I was thinking that it would be nice to rapid charge while shopping and come back to 80% charged car - maybe even tie it in to a conditional shop or loyalty card. It will be interesting how it develops.

 

[PaulR]

With the high cost of rapid chargers in many areas it’s actually dearer to travel with an EV than with a good average MPG diesel car. The EV charging prices are ridiculous in some areas of the UK - some charging 64p/kwh.
Using £5.60 per gal and averaging 50mpg a diesel will cost 11p/mile for fuel. Anything over about 33p/kwh with consumption of 3mpk means that it costs more to charge your electric car. And that’s without the issues of broken chargers, annual fees and poor service. This shouldn’t be the case. Rapid charging prices need to fall dramatically.

The only ones I have seen at that price are Ionity and they seem to be part of a consortium involving the big car manufacturers. You get a discount if you buy one of their cars I believe. When looking on Zapp map most seem to be in the 25pence to 35 pence bracket.

 

[RossN]

When we are allowed to go to coffee shops I do think that making a Costa/Starbucks with other shops together with free charging if you spend a certain amount will be the way forward. The place they built near Braintree looks amazing with a Costa and a WH Smiths it would be a pleasant place to spend an hour while charging.

 

[Stuart Wright]

When we are allowed to go to coffee shops I do think that making a Costa/Starbucks with other shops together with free charging if you spend a certain amount will be the way forward. The place they built near Braintree looks amazing with a Costa and a WH Smiths it would be a pleasant place to spend an hour while charging.

Although with the speed they charge at, you'd be out of there much quicker.

 

[chowbenter]

With the high cost of rapid chargers in many areas it’s actually dearer to travel with an EV than with a good average MPG diesel car. The EV charging prices are ridiculous in some areas of the UK - some charging 64p/kwh.
Using £5.60 per gal and averaging 50mpg a diesel will cost 11p/mile for fuel. Anything over about 33p/kwh with consumption of 3mpk means that it costs more to charge your electric car. And that’s without the issues of broken chargers, annual fees and poor service. This shouldn’t be the case. Rapid charging prices need to fall dramatically.

That would be terrible if that was the case I must admit I've yet to pay a visit to any public charger

 

[PaulR]

With the high cost of rapid chargers in many areas it’s actually dearer to travel with an EV than with a good average MPG diesel car. The EV charging prices are ridiculous in some areas of the UK - some charging 64p/kwh.
Using £5.60 per gal and averaging 50mpg a diesel will cost 11p/mile for fuel. Anything over about 33p/kwh with consumption of 3mpk means that it costs more to charge your electric car. And that’s without the issues of broken chargers, annual fees and poor service. This shouldn’t be the case. Rapid charging prices need to fall dramatically.

MG 5
I have just worked out the cost of travelling to my daughters in Harlow and back.
Travelling down is 160 miles / 3.5mpk = 46 kwh use * .15pence (home charge) =£6.85
Travelling home is 160 miles / 3.5mpk = 46 kwh use * .25pence (rapid charge ) =£11.50
Total cost = £18.35

Seat Ateca 1.4
320 miles round trip / 46mpg = 6.95 gallons * £ 5.55 a gallon =£38.50

So if my math is correct it will cost slightly less than half in the MG

Is my math correct?

 

[Pict]

When we are allowed to go to coffee shops I do think that making a Costa/Starbucks with other shops together with free charging if you spend a certain amount will be the way forward. .

I am surprised that food outlets such as KFC, McDonalds etc haven't implemented this yet, drive through, charge for 30 minutes (possibly included in slight cost increase), journey onwards

 

[Mark Holmes]

I am surprised that food outlets such as KFC, McDonalds etc haven't implemented this yet, drive through, charge for 30 minutes (possibly included in slight cost increase), journey onwards

Some agreements are in place with KFC and so you will start to see some.

 

[kiltox]

Even using IONITY for one of the charges yesterday I covered 346 miles for £28. Still cheaper than petrol/diesel.

I wouldn’t hold your breath for cheaper public charging - its only going to go one way.

 

[Mark Holmes]

Let’s enjoy it while we can and even if you only use free chargers in between it still all helps to drive the travel cost down, then once you add road tax, servicing costs etc

 

[Cocijo]

Yes - thankfully the nett cost for most people is much cheaper for an EV. If you don’t have home charge and you rapid charge a lot the costs can creep right up.

 

[TassiedEVil]

Some interesting thoughts about chargers and shopping centres from Alan Kohler, a leading Australian financial commentator:

“An interesting set of renewable energy players could be shopping centres. Last week I spoke to Tim Washington, founder and CEO of a private business called JetCharge, which builds and operates electric vehicle charging stations. He’s got 22 Charge Fox stations between Adelaide and Brisbane, but also looks after charging stations in car parks and homes.
He told me something I didn’t know: that a car battery could power a home for three days, and soon car batteries will be two-way – that is, as well as taking electricity in and storing it, they’ll be able to discharge it.
Tim said he thought shopping centres could become the largest electricity retailers in the country, selling cheap power to cars in their car parks – or possibly even giving it away to attract customers to the shops – and then we drive home and use the car to power the house from the car.
After all, shopping centres have a lot of buying power because of all the electricity needed to light the shops and they also have a lot of roof space for solar panels, so the power would be cheap. This could be the saviour of the malls.
Tim told me that Coles and Woolworths are well advanced in their thinking about this.
As I mentioned in AskAlan the other day, another interesting thing happened this week. I dropped my car off at Audi for a service and was looking at the new “e-tron” electric cars in the showroom (they’re $160k, so out of my league I’m afraid).

Audi are selling these things with six years of free electricity, if you charge the car at their place (it’s a 45-minute charge). You could theoretically always charge it there and never pay for electricity, including what you need for the house.

These are big changes – a revolution - and an unpredictable one at that.”
(from The Eureka Report, Edition 6, Feb 13. 2021)

Exciting times!! I’ve visited 2 newish supermarket developments in Melbourne, both with about 6 EV chargers in their carparks. Happy to pay if I need to top up especially if I’m doing shopping at the same time-it’s called Multitasking

 

[chowbenter]

What an exciting future in store The disruption in store for big oil & electricity providers is going to be huge in the coming years.

 

[TassiedEVil]

What an exciting future in store The disruption in store for big oil & electricity providers is going to be huge in the coming years.

Yes exactly, that is a large part of why I’m excited - maybe they too can adapt to change like the rest of us. Maybe...