11:31 am, October 1, 2025
A consumer motoring website is calling for a VAT reduction on roadside electric vehicle charging and suppliers, after a 1,285-mile test showed this could bring the cost of roadside charging closer to the fuelling an internal-combustion engine car on the same route.
A team from Honest John took a 2024 MG4 Extended Range on a 1,285-mile drive from Cambridgeshire to the Scottish Highlands and back using only roadside chargers, and compared the cost with the same journey in a Mercedes-Benz E220d, which averaged 48.8mpg over the same route.
In total, the cost of charging the MG was £203.03, compared with £172.48 in diesel for the Mercedes – but if roadside charging was subject to the same 5% VAT rate as domestic energy, the charging would have cost £172.57.
‘Users of honestjohn.co.uk told us that their biggest concerns around buying an electric car centred on not being able to charge one at home, range anxiety and the cost of charging, so we set out to explore the reality of these concerns,’ said Honest John Editor, David Ross.
‘What we found was enlightening. The newest generation of electric cars now travels further than ever between top-ups and the infrastructure has improved dramatically to the point that getting sufficient charge to cover long distances is no longer a problem, even travelling on the A9 between Perth and Inverness, which is the longest stretch of A-road in the UK with no public charging points.
‘With the number of fast chargers around, it seems that – aside from the initial purchase – the cost of charging is the only real issue, and it’s getting close to parity with fuel-efficient diesel cars, as our study shows.’
As part of the experiment, the MG was charged only at motorway service stations on the outbound leg of the journey, which accounted for £111 of the cost, with the return leg costing £92. While not an exact science due to the residual charging state of the battery on each leg of the journey, the gulf between motorway and trunk road charging is also notable, with motorway chargers being on average 10% more expensive.
The figures show that a ‘universal tipping point’ is imminent. More than 34% of UK households don’t have access to home charging, which is by far the cheapest way of running an EV. But for those who live in streets with on-street parking, flats or off-grid properties, this might not be an option. However, if an EV is as cheap to run as a diesel, even for these buyers, the landscape becomes very different.
In August 2025, electric cars represented a record 26.7% of new models sold, based on UK registration data – the highest ever market share. Increasing that appeal to those who can’t charge at home will increase that uptake further.
Ross added: ‘For a third of drivers, an electric car has never appealed, but we’re now at the tipping point where an EV could make sense even if you can’t charge at home. If running one is no more expensive than driving a diesel car with above average fuel-efficiency, then one of the key barriers to owning one is removed.
‘By simply reducing that cost by a modest amount, the days of an EV to suit everyone are near. Certainly by suppliers capping prices, to bring motorway charging in line with trunk road charging, we could cut one of those extra expenses.
‘But today, we call on the government to reduce VAT on public charging to the same 5% it is on domestic electricity, thus removing the one barrier to entry for those who need to rely on public charging stations.
‘We have shown that if they did, a mainstream EV would be cheaper to run than a 50mpg diesel, even if you can’t charge it at home. That would strongly reinforce the argument for those considering buying an EV.’
