FIAT’S popular 500 is currently the cheapest EV to charge at just £5.76 per charge according to analysis carried out by Leasing Options.
The survey of 50 models found that coming a close second was Mini electric with a recharge price of £7.82 with Honda’s new “e” and the Mazda MX-30 behind in joint third with a price of £8.52.
The Mini is also slightly quicker than the “e” and the MX-30, taking just 6 minutes longer than the 500 at 30 minutes for a recharge, six minutes faster than the others.
At the other end of the scale, the Audi e-tron. Recharging an e-tron from 20%-100% will cost around £23, a difference of £17.24 compared to the Fiat 500, and will also take around 1.5 hours to complete. The 500 takes 24 minutes.
The “S” version of the e-tron is slightly cheaper when it comes to full recharge, however it sits at the bottom of the leaderboard when we look at the cost per mile. The e-tron S will cost owners around 14.6p per mile. In comparison, the cheapest on the market today is the Hyundai IONIQ Electric, only costing 6.3p per mile. A difference of 8.3p per mile.
Another manufacturer that can be found towards the bottom of the cost per charge list is Tesla. Its Model S and X, while cheaper per mile than Audi’s e-tron, also costs £23 for a recharge from 20% to 100%. The Model 3 performs much better, sitting at around £14.40 and 7.5p per mile, but not as well as their rivals do. The Polestar 2 can be found within the top 20 with a recharge cost of only £10.98 and a cost per mile of around 8.6p.
However, where Tesla does shine is the number of miles that it can do with one charge. You may pay more at the plug recharging a Model S or X, but you’ll drive away with 297 (S) and 266 (X) additional miles, putting Tesla in 1st and 2nd place on the leaderboard.
At the bottom is the Fiat 500 (Hatch) with only 81 miles added per recharge, which is hardly surprising based on its size and main city-life purpose, but a 216-mile difference nonetheless.
Model
Charge Cost (£)
Cost Per Mile (p)
Miles Added
kWh Added
Real-World Electric Range (miles)
Charge Time (Minutes)
1
Fiat
500 Hatch
5.76
7.1
81
19
101
24
2
MINI
Electric
7.82
7.5
105
26
131
30
3
Honda
e
8.52
8.3
103
28
129
36
4
Mazda
MX-30
8.52
9.1
94
28
118
36
5
SEAT
Mii Electric
8.83
7.2
122
29
153
36
6
Volkswagen
e-up!
8.83
7.3
121
29
151
36
7
Hyundai
IONIQ Electric
9.19
6.3
147
31
184
36
8
Hyundai
KONA Electric
9.36
7.7
121
31
151
36
9
KIA
e-Niro
9.36
6.8
137
31
171
36
10
Nissan
LEAF
9.60
7.5
128
32
160
36
11
Fiat
500 Cabrio
10.08
7
143
34
179
42
12
BMW
i3
10.13
7.1
143
34
179
42
13
BMW
i3s
10.13
7.6
133
34
166
42
14
MG Motors UK
ZS EV
10.68
8.6
124
36
155
42
15
Volkswagen
ID.3
10.80
7.8
139
36
174
42
16
Polestar
2
10.98
8.6
128
37
214
42
17
Peugeot
e-208
12.00
7.5
160
40
200
48
18
Peugeot
e-2008
12.00
7.6
157
40
196
48
19
Citroen
e-C4
12.00
7.7
156
40
195
48
20
Vauxhall
Corsa-e
12.00
7.7
156
40
195
48
Methodology
The following methodology was used to gather the data for this piece.
Used Zap-Map’s database to all EV charge times, cost etc.
Kept all of the criteria the same. Charge levels start and finish were set between 20%-100% and the charger used is a 50kW rapid charger. The connection fee is at £0 and the cost per kWh is locked at 30p.
Zap-Map provided the estimated ranges and specific car specs.
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Chris Wright has been covering the automotive industry nationally and internationally for 30 years. Following spells with consumer titles he became News Editor of Automotive Management (AM), Editor of Automotive International, International Editor for Detroit-based Automotive News, and Editor of Dealer Update. He has also co-authored several FT Management Reports and contributes regularly to Justauto.com
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