Driving an EV becomes FREE for the rest of the year from today
This is Money reveals that today (3 July) is when it becomes effectively free to run an EV – beating last year's milestone by 12 days.
Today is the 'crossover day' when a petrol driver spends more on fuel than an electric driver will for an entire year, according to calculations by the Electric Car Scheme in what it's dubbed 'Electric Car Day'.
By scrutinising the annual fuel costs for the average UK driver travelling 7,400 miles a year, it estimated that petrol drivers will spend £1,161 while EV drivers will pay £592.
But it's even better news for electric car drivers on special energy tariffs or utilising a salary sacrifice charging set up, as this date could come as early as 9 March – based on drivers being able to access the cheapest 3p per mile charging on an EV dedicated tariff.
This comes after all public charging speeds held steady or fell during May, making it cheaper to charge your car before summer holidays begin.
Electric Car Day underlines just how much more affordable electric cars are to run, with the average EV driver getting essentially six months of free driving.
The date for when driving an electric car essentially becomes 'free' is getting earlier and earlier, falling on 1 August in 2023, and 15 July in 2024.
This is because fuel and energy prices fluctuate and the efficiency of EVs improves. So, EV owners are seeing their savings increase each year.
But it's not just higher money savings that EV are delivering; the amount of CO2 saved by drivers of electric cars has also increased as the share of electricity being generated by renewable sources has increased in the past year, meaning fewer total emissions, and pollution, compared to petrol cars.
The Electric Car Scheme CEO and co-founder Thom Groot commented: 'EV drivers will be pleased to hear that from now on, their driving is effectively free compared to the average petrol driver. That is before you think of the reduced emissions and pollution taken out of villages, towns and cities and the improved health of those who live there.
'While free driving for nearly half the year is impressive, there are some EV drivers that have been effectively doing so for three months already.'
The Electric Car Scheme used the average miles travelled per car from DfT 2019 data (7,400), NimbleFins average petrol miles per gallon (38.8) and the average price per gallon of petrol in 2025 (£6.64 or £1.34 a litre) from Government figures to calculate Electric Car Day. The average price per mile for electric driving (£0.08) was taken from EcoExperts.
The annual cost of petrol is therefore £1,161 and £592 for annual EV charging cost. This means that the average petrol car costs £3.18 a day in 2025, with the £592 spent by 3 July.
Carbon emissions were worked out using National Grid figures for 2023 (149g of CO2e/kWh) and the EV Database's average EV consumption figure of 0.32kWh per mile, emitting 47.7 grams of CO2e per mile for power consumption.
As the average petrol car emits 274.4 grams of CO2 per mile then over a year that will amount to 2030kg of CO2, compared to just 325kg for an EV.
AA President Edmund King commented: 'The data shows a clear delineation in the relative costs and environmental impacts of driving a petrol car, which is hard to ignore, especially as the date when a petrol driver spends more on fuel than an electric driver will over an entire year creeps ever earlier.'
Ultra-rapid charging get cheaper in time for summer holidays
EV affordability has further extended over petrol in the last weeks as the cost of rapid charging falls.
Peak and off-peak ultra-rapid charging fell 2p per kWh in May while the Middle East crisis pushed the price at the pumps up by 2p a litre in the past week alone, the AA EV Recharge Report for May shows.
Even before the Middle East crisis the electric advantage over petrol was 5.5p/mile for domestic charging and 1.4p/mile for off-peak ultra charges.
Slow, fast and rapid charging prices held or saw reductions throughout May – better news still for EV owners who rely on the public charging network.
The OFGEM energy price cap fall brings charging costs down further, and increases EV savings before the summer holidays fall.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
3 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
ALEX BRUMMER: Bank fears Farage turmoil in No 10
As a public figure, the governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey receives most attention from consumers and businesses alike for his role in setting interest rates. Critical as that is to national wellbeing, it has long been my belief that Bailey is more comfortable with the Bank's other, less discussed role of maintaining financial stability. Bailey was first to the battlements in his early days in office in March 2020 as the pandemic shut down Britain and much of the world. Bond markets in New York were in panic, and the Bank, led first by Mark Carney and then Bailey, moved to calm events. A currency swap deal with the US was activated, interest rates were cut to the bone and more money printing, through quantitative easing, was authorised. Bailey passionately urged government to take steps to prevent scarring to the economy. He was also at the tiller in the autumn of 2022 when Liz Truss's tax-cutting mini Budget sparked a run on the pound and a sudden retreat from British government bonds. The scale and suddenness of the move caused ructions for pension funds which had used derivative products to gamble on returns. The episode had threatened, without Bailey's intervention, to cause a cascade of financial collapses among banks who had provided credit for the trades. The Bank of England became a butt of criticism, not least on these pages. Its twice-yearly Financial Stability Report had in the past warned of the potential danger of liability driven-investment products (LDIs) but neither the Bank nor the Pensions Regulator addressed the matter. It is one thing for the Financial Stability Committee to identify and warn of dangers to the financial system, but quite another to tackle a weakness and close it down. Bailey was in the Bank's engine room in the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, so has vast experience of dealing with fractures in the financial system and knows how rapidly contagion takes place. All this experience tells him that Chancellor Rachel Reeves' efforts to encourage growth, by deregulating the City, could be a huge error. It is a reminder of the light touch regulation in the run-up to the collapse of Northern Rock in 2007 and the crisis which followed. Readers of this month's Financial Stability document would find few clues to what Bailey believes is the most acute concern at present. It is not Trump tariffs or the present Government's borrowing needs, as serious as they may be. The governor's biggest worry is political uncertainty. It may seem mad to think that this should be the case given Labour's vast Commons majority and four more years in office. The significant statistic is that Nigel Farage's Reform UK has led the other parties in 65 consecutive polls. And the present kerfuffles in Epping and the record small boat arrivals in a long hot summer make the potential for a Farage journey to Downing Street ever more credible. Bailey and the independent Bank never indulge in party politics. But for the governor, pound sterling, the bond markets and the whole stability of the financial system, the number one threat is a big-spending populist released into Downing Street. Reach for the safety straps.
BBC News
5 minutes ago
- BBC News
Allingham completes Superstock double at Brands
David Allingham completed a Superstock double at the British Superbike Championship round at Brands Ireland's Allingham beat championship leader Ilya Mikhalchik by just 0.594 seconds in the second race around the Grand Prix circuit in SMS BMW rider had dropped to second behind Tom Ward in the early stages but responded to take the lead on lap nine and he held off Mikhalchik on the final Saturday, the 30-year-old had beaten Mikhalchik to the chequered flag by just 0.3 seconds after starting the race from pole was a first two victories of the season for Allingham, who is now up to third in the standings and 47 points behind leader at Brands Hatch, Nikki Coates beat title rival Barry Burrell by just 0.062 seconds to extend his championship lead in the BMW Motorrad F 900 R the British Superbike Championship, Andrew Irwin finished 11th and seventh in the opening two races but he failed to finish the third Swann secured three points finishes with 14th and two 12th places.
The Sun
5 minutes ago
- The Sun
British Gas send dead man's family a letter demanding payment of a penny
BRITISH Gas sent a dead man's family a letter demanding payment of a penny. Christopher Storer, 65, was found dead in his one-bed flat in March. 4 4 4 His relatives notified the firm and were assured his account had been closed. His sister Margaret, 63, set up a ' redirect ' on her brother's post and was sent the bill for the final penny. She said: 'I opened the letter and I was absolutely furious. "I was staring at it for 15 minutes. 'I couldn't believe what I was reading. "It made me bloody angry and upset.' Margaret, of Hinckley, Leics, added: 'It's ridiculous. "I feel like I haven't had time to mourn my brother because of having to deal with this. 'They make hundreds of millions in profit. "Where is their compassion in chasing a dead man's family for one more penny? How to cut energy costs and get help with FOUR key household bills "How low can anyone go? They knew he was dead. "It felt like a sick joke at his expense.' Margaret said she had complained and was offered £20 compensation. British Gas was asked to comment. When a customer dies, relatives should notify British Gas so they can be removed from its database. But there have been multiple examples of the company, owned by Centrica, continuing to send bills. 4
