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Audi E-Tron electric cars: Your questions answered

Audi E-tron GT

Audi has promised to deliver 20 new cars by 2025, half of them electric. It’s part of a plan to launch only electric cars worldwide from 2026, as the German marque gears up for an all-electric future.

This guide provides a broad overview of what you need to know about electric Audis in 2024, including information about buying, charging and driving these vehicles. Got any further questions? Let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to respond.

Buying an Audi electric car

Audi Q4 E-Tron

Which fully electric cars does Audi sell?

Right now, Audi’s electric range consists of four different models:

  • Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron
  • Q6 E-Tron and SQ6 E-Tron
  • Q8 E-Tron, SQ8 E-Tron and SQ8 Sportback E-Tron
  • S E-Tron GT, RS E-Tron GT and RS E-Tron GT Performance

Which Audi electric cars are coming soon?

The Audi A6 Sportback E-tron will be available to order from September 2024. Prices are expected to start from £70,000, with the four-door saloon offering between 420 and 463 miles of range according to the official figures.

What is Audi’s electric car brand called?

Audi’s electric car brand is called E-Tron.

What is the warranty on an Audi electric car battery?

Audi’s electric car batteries come with an eight-year or 100,000-mile warranty, whichever comes first. All other parts on the car are covered for up to three years after purchase.

Audi Q6 E-Tron

Where can you buy an Audi electric car?

You can buy a new Audi electric car from your nearest Audi dealer. 

How much do Audi electric cars cost?

The Q4 E-Tron range starts from around £52,000, with the Sportback version adding £1,500 to the price.

The Q6 E-Tron costs from around £64,500, although the high-performance SQ6 E-tron is just shy of £94,000.

The Q8 E-Tron range starts from around £71,500 for the entry-level version, rising to £100,000 for the SQ8 E-Tron.

Finally, the S E-tron GT costs around £108,500, with the RS E-Tron GT at £127,500, and the flagship RS E-tron GT Performance priced at £144,000.

Charging an Audi electric car

Audi E-Tron GT

What type of plug do Audi EVs use?

Audi electric cars use Type 2 (AC) and CCS (DC) plugs.

What charging equipment comes as standard with an Audi electric car?

Aud’s Compact Charging System (CCS) consists of a control unit with a Type 2 AC charging cable on one side (which plugs into the AC socket), plus the following interchangeable cables on the other side of the unit:

You also get a Type 2 AC charging cable for use with a wallbox or a public charger.

Can Audi electric cars use rapid chargers?

Yes, Audi electric cars can use rapid chargers.

Can Audi electric cars use Ionity chargers?

Yes, Audi electric cars can use the Ionity 350kW ultra-rapid charging network.

Where is the charging point located on an Audi electric car?

The Audi E-Tron SUV, for example, comes with two charging access points. On the driver’s side, there is one that provides access to AC (Type 2 socket) and DC (CCS socket) charging. On the passenger side, there is a second AC (Type 2 socket) charging access point.

Which charge partners does Audi work with?

Audi has partnered with the following charging network operators: BP Pulse, Alfa Power, Shell Recharge, E-Flux, Hubsta, Virta, ESB Energy, Chargepoint, EVBox, Instavolt, Last Mile Solutions, Pod Point, Fastned, Ionity, Chargy, Franklin Energy, Osprey, Source London and E-Carni.

Audi Q6 E-Tron

What is Audi’s wallbox called?

Audi’s recommended supplier for installing a wallbox is Ohme. It also recommends switching to OVO as your energy provider, and switching to the Charge Anytime tariff.

What wallbox options does Audi offer?

You can charge an Audi electric car using 3.7kW, 7kW or 22kW home chargers. Audi recommends the 7kW unit.

Do you get a free wallbox when you buy a new Audi electric car?

At the time of writing, Audi is offering a free 7kW Ohme 5m tethered cable Home Pro EV charger or a 7kW untethered ePod home EV charger when you buy a new electric car. Alternatively, you can opt for £500 worth of Audi charging or £500 off the price of a new Audi electric car.

What is the Audi E-tron Charging Service?

The E-Tron Charging Service (eCS) provides access to thousands of charging points across Europe. There are two tariffs: City and Transit.

City is designed for drivers who cover short distances and require flexibility. Transit is aimed at longer-distance drivers who may require access to the Ionity public charging network. This tariff includes discounted ultra-rapid charging.

What is the maximum charging speed of an Audi electric car?

For the S E-Tron GT, RS E-Tron GT and RS E-Tron GT Performance models, a maximum charging speed of 320kW means the ability to charge from 10 to 80 percent capacity in just 18 minutes.

Other Audi electric cars offer charging speeds between 135kW and 175kW, so you can expect to complete an 80 percent charge in around 30 minutes.

Driving an Audi electric car

Audi E-Tron GT

What is the range of an Audi electric car?

The range of an Audi electric car depends on the model. The Q6 E-Tron can travel the furthest on a single charge, managing up to 381 miles with a gentle right foot. The S E-Tron GT is almost as good, offering up to 375 miles according to the official figures.

As for the rest of the range, you can expect to see between 263 and 360 miles, depending on the E-Tron model in question.

What is the Audi electric car smartphone app called?

You can connect to your Audi electric car using the myAudi smartphone app. This provides information on the vehicle status, where it is parked, the lock status and a route planner. It also allows you to lock and unlock the doors remotely, along with activating the preconditioning function to heat or cool the car in advance.

How many Audi dealers are there and do they offer free charging for owners?

There are 116 Audi dealers in the UK. They do not offer free electric car charging for owners, however.

Does Audi sat-nav show charging point locations and availability?

Yes, the E-Tron route planner allows you to plan your route before you leave, including the charging stations along the journey. It also shows estimated charge times and traffic information.

ALSO READ:

Audi RS E-Tron GT review

Audi Q8 E-tron review

Vorsprung durch Technik: the rise of Audi

Charging an EV: what is the difference between AC and DC current?

Difference between AC and DC

AC and DC current are to EVs what petrol and diesel are to traditional combustion cars. You can think of them as ‘fuels’ that will keep your electric car battery topped up.

However, unlike when choosing the correct nozzle at the petrol station, you never need to worry about which fuel you put in your electric car; it’s all handled by the charging unit and the vehicle itself.

So, what is the difference between AC and DC electricity – and how does this affect charging times for your electric car?

What is AC?

AC stands for ‘alternating current’. Mains electricity from the grid is an AC supply, with around 230 volts entering our homes via each three-pin socket. According to energy supplier EDF, AC is ‘better for transporting current over long distances, which is why we use it for mains electricity’.

AC and DC chargers

What is DC?

DC stands for ‘direct current’. Domestic appliances require a DC supply, which is why they have converters built into the plug.

Electric cars also rely on a DC supply, so they use an ‘onboard charger’ to convert power from AC to DC. This is then fed into the car’s battery for storage.

Charging your electric car

You don’t need to worry about the difference between AC and DC electricity when plugging in, but it’s worth knowing the impact they have on charging speeds.

Volkswagen ID Buzz

The vast majority of home chargers in the UK use AC power, with the conversion to DC handled by the car. This slows the process, which means it takes longer for batteries to be recharged.

With the exception of Type 2 43kW devices, public rapid chargers supply DC directly to the car, speeding up the process. It’s why these chargers can potentially provide an 80 percent top-up in an hour or less.

Unfortunately, rapid chargers aren’t suitable for domestic installation, and using them is relatively expensive, so charging overnight at home is preferable if you can. You will find rapid chargers at motorway service stations and close to major roads, making them ideal for stop-offs on a longer journey.

How much does charging an electric car cost?

How much does charging an electric car cost

Although you need to take regional price variations into account, the cost of filling a conventional car with petrol or diesel is relatively easy to calculate. All you need is the size of the fuel tank and the fuel price per litre.

Things aren’t so simple when it comes to the cost of charging an electric car. You need to consider where the car is being charged and, in some cases, the make and model of car in question.

Here, we’ll provide a basic overview of the charges you can expect to pay when running an electric car

Charging an electric car at home

Charging an electric car

It makes sense to charge your electric car at home, ideally overnight. Not only will you wake up to a fully charged car in the morning, you can also take advantage of off-peak electricity costs. Home charging is usually the cheapest option.

You should invest in a home charge point – also known as a wallbox. There are plenty of offers out there – some wallboxes will be offered free with your new car, while some electricity companies offer them as part of your energy tariff.

Wallboxes vary in price, but you can expect to pay between £500 and £800 for a 3.6kW unit. A 7kW charger should cost around £1,000.

If you can afford it, we’d recommend upgrading to a 7kW charge point, as it significantly reduces the time it takes to refill an EV battery. For example, it takes around 12 hours to charge a BMW iX3 from empty to full using a 7kW charger, but 22 hours if you use a 3.6kW charger. Using a domestic plug socket? Set aside a whopping 35 hours for a full charge…

Regardless of the charger, make sure you’re on the best home energy tariff available. Many energy firms offer off-peak prices at night when demand is reduced and there’s less pressure on the grid.

Charging an electric car

EDF offers a range of tariffs designed for electric car drivers, each one backed by zero carbon electricity. Its GoElectric Overnight tariff provides five hours of off-peak electricity for 9p per kWh and is designed for medium- to high-mileage users. The EDF EVolve tariff is designed for lower-mileage users, with the company saying it could save customers around £200 a year.

E.ON Next offers a Next Drive tariff, which delivers electricity at 6.9p per kWh between 12am and 7am, while Octopus Energy’s EV tariff will schedule the charge for when the energy is cheapest and greenest – at a cost of 7p per kWh. The company says customers will save £500 a year compared to a standard tariff.

Zap-Map has a handy calculator you can use to work out the cost of charging at home. Based on a Polestar 2 (single motor 170kW), a 7kW charging unit and an energy cost of 8p per kWh, it will cost £4.27 for a full charge. Based on a standard energy rate of 24.5p, the cost increases to £15.

Using an electric car with a smaller battery as another example, it will cost £2.88 to charge a Honda e. With 129 miles added, the cost per mile is 2.2p – significantly less than the 28p per mile for a typical petrol or diesel car. That’s a saving of around £19.40 when driving the same distance.

How to find your electricity tariff

Charging an electric car

Your electricity unit rate will be listed on your monthly statement. Look for the unit rate figure followed by ‘p/kWh’.

It should be listed prominently within the statement – for example: ‘unit rate: 14.0p/kWh’.

It is also listed in the ‘Energy’ row, which shows how many kWh of electricity you have used during the past month. For example: ‘500kWh @ 14p/kWh’.

You can use this p/kWh figure to multiply against your EV’s battery capacity and easily find out how much a full charge will cost – for example, a 50kWh battery and a 14p/kWh tariff add up to £7 for a full charge (that’s 50 x 0.14p = £7).

Charging at a public charger

Nissan Leaf

While the energy tariff is the biggest influence on the cost of charging an electric car at home, there are more variables associated with using the network of public chargers.

Some locations offer free EV charging for customers and visitors. Conversely, a rapid charger at a motorway service area will be one of the most expensive ways to charge an electric car. You’re paying for convenience and this is unlikely to be part of your daily routine.

Our advice would be to charge at home whenever possible, using the public network to top up when required. There are a number of different charging operators, each one with a different approach to pricing. For example, some offer free membership and free charging, while some require payment of a membership fee followed by a cost per kWh used.

Here are some of the biggest operators, along with the associated costs. The details are correct at the time of writing (July 2024).

GeniePoint

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 75p to 79p for registered users or 83p per contactless payments and guest users

Gridserve Electric Highway

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 49p (AC charging) and 79p (DC charging)

Instavolt

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 85p

Ionity

Membership fee: Free (Ionity Direct), £10.50 per month (Ionity Passport Power), £5.49 per month (Ionity Passport Motion)

Cost per kWh: 74p (Ionity Direct), 43p (Ionity Passport Power), 53p (Ionity Passport Motion)

Pod Point

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 44p to 49p (Tesco/fast), 62p to 69p (Tesco/rapid), 65p (Lidl)

Shell Recharge

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 51p to 93p, depending on device and payment method

Tesla

Membership fee: Free for Tesla owners or £90 a year for non-Tesla owners

Cost per kWh: 52p (Tesla), 65p (Non-Tesla)

This information is sourced from Zap-Map. Click here for more charging operators and a detailed look at the costs.

Charging a Tesla

Tesla Supercharger

If you purchased a Tesla Model S or Model X BEFORE 2 November 2018 or AFTER August 2019, you will enjoy free and unlimited access to the Supercharger network. Charges apply for all Model 3 owners.

The cost of charging varies according to the location and time of day, but CAR magazine sourced the following fees for a Supercharger in north London.

  • Tesla owner: 29p to 47p per kWh
  • Other electric car owner: 32p to 63p per kWh

Click here to find your nearest electric car charger.

What are the pros and cons of electric cars?

Kia EV9 charging

If you haven’t bought one already, you may be considering an electric car. Recent advances in battery technology and greater choice mean EVs have become a realistic proposition for many people.

At Motoring Electric, we think the pros are starting to outweigh the cons when it comes to buying or leasing an electric car. However, these vehicles won’t suit everyone, as the following guide explains.

We have compiled a list of the advantages and disadvantages of owning an electric car. Read on to decide if the time is right to leave petrol or diesel behind.

The advantages of an electric car

The pros of an electric car

No tailpipe emissions

All electric cars offer zero tailpipe emissions. In fact, they don’t have a tailpipe). This is great for local air quality, particularly in cities.

While a considerable amount of energy is required to build a car, and electricity is used to recharge the batteries (which may also create emissions, depending on the source), research shows EVs are less polluting overall than traditional combustion-engined cars.

Lower running costs

An electric car should be cheaper to run than a petrol or diesel equivalent. Energy prices are quite volatile, so making comparisons isn’t easy. Some energy companies offered cost calculators, but many have removed them from their websites.

However, a typical family EV should cost less than half as much per mile to drive as a combustion car – provided you charge at home and take advantage of off-peak rates.

If you rely solely on public charging points, the relative costs will be much closer. Indeed, some public rapid chargers are no cheaper than filling up with petrol.

No road tax… for now

Drivers of electric cars are also exempt from paying Vehicle Excise Duty (VED, also known as annual road tax) until 2025.

All zero-emission electric cars are VED-exempt, regardless of how much they cost to buy. This is in marked contrast to combustion cars, which may attract the hefty ‘Expensive Car Supplement’ in the first year, plus an additional £355 a year for the following five years, if their list price is above £40,000.

More technology

electric car technology

Manufacturers are investing heavily in electric cars, so you could have access to technology that is missing from other vehicles. For example, it might be possible to pre-heat the car’s cabin from your smartphone before you set off, which will be handy on a cold morning.

Buy a Tesla and you’ll be able to play video games and make rude parping noises via the touchscreen, too. Whatever floats your boat… 

Government incentives

At one time, the UK goverment was offering £3,500 towards the cost of buying an EV through the Plug-in Car Grant. This incentive decreased steadily over the years and has now been withdrawn altogether. However, you can still get help towards the cost of installing a home charger.

Under the EV chargepoint grant, people who live in flats or rented properties can claim back up to 75 percent of the cost of a fitted home charging point – up to a maximum of £350. You also need a private, off-street parking space outside your property.

Live in a house or have a mortgage on your property? Unfortunately, you are not eligible. Electric car incentives aren’t what they used to be…

Instant performance

All EVs offer smooth and immediate acceleration thanks to the ever-ready torque of electric motors. As a result, they feel particularly rapid in towns and cities, often providing a dizzying level of off-the-line pace. Take the Tesla Model S, which can potentially sprint to 60mph in just 2.4 seconds – quick enough to leave many of the best supercars behind.

Even the more affordable electric cars feel rapid. The Vauxhall Corsa Electric can dash to 60mph in a brisk 7.6 seconds, for example.

Quieter than a conventional car

The quiteness of an electric car

Once you’ve experienced the serenity of an electric car, you’ll find it hard to return to the noise of a petrol or diesel engine. It’s not totally silent – you still hear some wind, tyre and road noise, pus the faint whine of the motor – but an electric car is generally easier and more relaxing to drive.

Cheaper to maintain

With fewer moving parts, an electric car should be cheaper to maintain than a petrol or diesel vehicle. You can kiss goodbye to changing the oil, spark plugs, belts, coolant, air filters and transmission oil.

However, you will still need to visit a garage for replacement tyres, brakes, lights, windscreen wipers, tracking adjustment, suspension and cabin filtration.

Access to towns and cities

Access to towns and cities

The introduction of Clean Air Zones (CAZ) signals a new era of penalties for driving a polluting vehicle in a town or city. At the very least, electric cars will be exempt from payment, but you could find that EVs are soon the only vehicles welcome in some urban environments. Buying an EV is thus a way to future-proof your motoring.

The feelgood factor

Finally, there’s the feelgood factor of doing your bit for the environment. By driving an electric car, you’ll be helping to improve local air quality, which will do wonders for your image. Just look at all the companies switching to electric vans to boost their environmental credentials.

The disadvantages of an electric car

electric car charging points

Charging points

At last count, according to Zap Map, there are nearly 100,000 charging connectors in the UK. The government wants to ensure that nobody is further than 30 miles from a rapid charging station by 2025.

However, the number of EVs on the road has been increasing much faster than the number of charging points. And there’s no doubt that some areas of the country aren’t as well served as major cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester. Yes, the network is growing all the time, but so is the demand, meaning queues to charge aren’t uncommon.

If you arrive at a charging point to discover that it’s already in use, it could cause a significant delay to your journey. By contrast, if there is somebody at the petrol pump, you will only have to wait a few minutes.

Lastly, if a charging point is out of service or you can’t connect for some reason (many of us have been there), you could be left stranded.

Charging time

As above, charging an electric car will inevitably take longer than filling a petrol or diesel car with fuel. Although some EVs can be recharged to 80 percent in as little as 20 minutes using a rapid charger, you should allow up to an hour.

If you’re charging at home using a domestic socket, an overnight fill-up is the most realistic option. A full charge using a 3kW unit could take between six and 12 hours.

It requires a change in mindset. In the same way we’ve become accustomed to charging a smartphone, you’ll need to do the same with an electric car. If you charge a car overnight, you’ll wake up with a fully charged battery. If possible, you could leave the car on charge while you’re at work.

EV range anxiety

electric car range anxiety

Some people struggle to come to terms with range anxiety. This is the fear of not reaching your destination without charging up. If you get flustered when your smartphone battery drops below 60 percent, you might struggle with an electric car.

As battery technology advances, range concerns are likely to become a thing of the past. Typically, you can expect anything between 200 and 400 miles from a new electric car, but a few are capable of even more.

Not strictly zero-emissions

Even the most ardent supporter of electric cars would have to concede that they’re only zero emissions at the point of use. A great deal of energy is consumed during the manufacturing of the car, and there’s also the issue of the electricity used during the charging process.

However, if the electricity is sourced using renewable sources (such as wind, hydro and solar), the environmental argument against electric cars becomes weaker. And the balance has started to shift.

The cost of buying one

Hyundai Kona Electric

For the time being at least, electric cars are relatively expensive. Your cheapest options tend to be electric vehicles based on the architecture of conventional cars, such as the Peugeot e-208.

Let’s use the Hyundai Kona Electric, pictured above, as an example. At £34,995, it’s nearly £9,000 more expensive than a basic Kona, and almost £5,000 more than the flagship Kona Ultimate. Once you get into the realms of premium brands such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Porsche, electric motoring gets very expensive.

Driving dynamics

Finally, although they’re very quick and wonderfully quiet, most EVs struggle to compete with conventional cars when it comes to driving fun. They’re simply too heavy to feel agile when cornering, while the weight of the batteries can make for a rather lumpy ride.

There are exceptions to the rule. The Porsche Taycan is genuinely rewarding to drive, for example, while the Tesla Model 3 is a very capable all-rounder. And a new generation of electric sports cars is on the way.

Do electric cars cost more to insure?

Are electric cars more expensive to insure

Car insurance is one of the inescapable costs of motoring. It doesn’t matter if you drive a supermini or a supercar, you will have to fork out for annual cover. How much you pay depends on several factors, including the car’s insurance group.

The groups range from 1 to 50. In simple terms, the higher the group, the more you’ll pay for insurance. A lower insurance group means you will pay less, but the premium will also be determined by other factors, such as your age, occupation and postcode.

The question is, are EVs more expensive to insure than petrol or diesel vehicles? The bad news is, yes, the latest data shows that electric cars do cost more to insure. But not by much…

EV insurance groups

Electric car insurance

Take the Kia Niro (pictured above). In hybrid and plug-in hybrid guise, the Niro falls into groups 20 to 24, which is par for the course for a family SUV. Opt for the Niro EV and you’re looking at groups 28-29. Not a massive jump, but it will add a few quid to your annual premium.

It’s a similar story with the Hyundai Kona. The hybrid versions range from groups 16 to 18, while the Kona Electric is in groups 25-33.

Meanwhile, the fastest and most expensive version of the Tesla Model Y slots into group 50 – the highest of the lot. This put it on a par with the supercars we mentioned. In fairness, though, it does offer the acceleration to match.

EV insurance costs

Electric car insurance

Insurance groups are only part of the story. According to price comparison website Compare The Market, the average electric car insurance premium increased by £139 between 2023 and 2024. The situation is even worse for drivers of petrol and diesel cars, who have seen an average annual increase of £157.

Looking at the overall costs of running a car, Compare The Market says electric car owners have seen a £16 drop between 2023 and 2024. This compares with a £152 increase for petrol and diesel cars. Free VED (road tax) and cheaper ‘fuel’ certainly help here.

Can you get specialised EV cover?

Electric car insurance

Some insurance companies offer cover designed for electric vehicles. For example, an Aviva policy features an out of charge recovery service, which includes transport to a working charging point if the battery cannot be recharged on site. The cover also includes having charging cables and a wallbox charger installed at home.

Other insurance companies offering specific electric car policies include Admiral, Direct Line, LV=, NFU Mutual and Esure. Alternatively, Pluginsure is a company dedicated to electric cars – but all providers should offer cover.

Why do EVs cost more to insure?

Electric cars are more expensive to insure because they contain complex battery technology that is costly to replace. They’re also costlier to repair, which only adds to the overall bill.

You can reduce your premium by restricting the amount of miles you cover in a year, increasing the voluntary excess and using a price comparison website. Never accept the annual renewal quote from your existing insurance provider.

Also, remember that more expensive insurance for electric cars can be offset by lower running costs. So it’s important to look at the bigger picture.

What is preconditioning and how can it boost your EV’s range?

Preconditioning is one of the lesser-known but genuinely beneficial features of electric cars. Whether it’s a scorching afternoon in the summer or a freezing morning in winter, preconditioning can make your life easier.

Put simply, preconditioning allows you to pre-heat or pre-cool the car’s cabin before you start your journey. Not only will you feel more comfortable, you will maximise your EV’s driving range and prolong the life of its battery.

Let’s call that a win-win-win situation. So, how does preconditioning work?

How does preconditioning work?

Volkswagen ID Buzz

Preconditioning can be activated via the car’s infotainment system or a connected smartphone app. By scheduling your daily departure times, the car will heat or cool its interior to an optimum temperature set by you. Then you simply climb in and go.

Crucially, when the car is plugged in, electricity is drawn from the mains and not the car’s battery, so this has no impact on driving range. You start your journey with a 100 percent full battery, and won’t need to deplete it to heat or cool the cabin.

Also, because the car’s windows will be free of mist or ice when you climb aboard, you won’t waste time (and more electricity) waiting to clear or defrost them.

Does preconditioning improve EV range?

Opel Corsa preconditioning

Preconditioning doesn’t add miles as such, but it will preserve the predicted range available at the start of the journey. Because you won’t need to use the air conditioning on a high setting, you’ll consume less energy.

If you are travelling alone, we recommend using the heated seat and steering wheel, if fitted, as these use less electricity than warming the entire interior.

It’s also worth noting that a cold battery can reduce electric range by up to 30 percent, which will have a significant impact during the winter months. Preserving range could be crucial to completing your journey without a charging stop.

Does preconditioning help the battery?

Renault Zoe

The lithium-ion batteries found in most electric cars are based on electro-chemical reactions that are slowed down by cold weather. During the winter, the battery thus provides less energy and will lose its charge more quickly.

Preconditioning warms the battery to optimum temperature using power from the mains, which will help preserve the cells. The knock-on effect of this is a longer battery life and the preservation of the car’s potential range.

In some sophisticated EVs, such as the Porsche Taycan, the battery is also heated or cooled automatically on the move to keep it within an optimum temperature range – and in anticipation of any charging stops programmed into the sat nav.

For more information on how preconditioning works in your particular electric car, consult the handbook or search online.

Get into the habit of preconditioning from the moment you take delivery of your EV. On every level, it simply makes sense.

Can I pay for electric car charging with a credit or debit card?

Electric car charging point credit card

Imagine you own a car that is running low on petrol or diesel. However, you can only fill up at a Shell station if you had previously registered your details with Shell – likewise at an Esso station if you had registered with Esso, and so on.

Instead of around 8,000 petrol stations across the UK to choose from, therefore, you might be limited to only a fraction of that number.

To begin with, this was the situation with electric car charging points. When you registered with just a single provider – and there are many of them – you were restricted to their charging stations only. In order to access a decent range of public EV chargers, you had to spend hours setting up accounts with multiple providers.

Clearly, as many EV early adopters discovered, this made no sense. What we needed was the ability to charge electric cars with the tap of a MasterCard, Visa or American Express.

So, from late 2020, the government ruled that all new electric car charge points must accept credit or debit cards. The same way that automated petrol pumps do, of course.

Will EV charging points take card payment?

Electric car charging point credit card panel

The good news, then, is that electric car charging points do take cards. You can simply turn up and pay, without having to register for an access card or tag first.

All good, then? Well, yes and no, because certain charge point operators run a two-tier system, billing those who haven’t pre-registered more if they simply turn up and pay with a credit or debit card.

At the time of writing, for example, a BP Pulse 50kW charger costs 79p per kWh if you haven’t registered in advance. But register, and agree to pay £7.85 a month, and you only will only pay 63p per kWh. BP Pulse’s equivalent prices for ultra-fast 150kW chargers are 89p and 69p per KWh.

A card-free future for electric cars

Two developments are likely to make the credit or debit card question almost redundant in future. One is that charging via an app on your smartphone will become commonplace.

The other is that new electric cars will have in-built authentication data – known as Plug & Charge technology. You will simply connect to the charging station for payment to be made automatically.

How long does it take to charge an electric car?

Tesla Supercharger

Along with monthly cost and driving range, charging time is another key issue for anyone considering the switch to an electric car. And there is no way to sugar the pill here: it does take time.

Even with rapid improvements in battery technology, it will be many years before electric cars can match the few minutes it takes to fill up with petrol or diesel. However, there are certain ways to make living with an EV easier.

Keep reading our quick guide for everything you need to know.

1. A longer range means a longer charge

It’s simple mathematics. Cars with a long range have bigger batteries and thus will generally take longer to refill than those with smaller, lower-capacity batteries.

Hyundai Kona Electric

2. Large cars take longer to recharge

Large electric cars tend to have bigger batteries. But their weight also means they consume more power, thus each unit of electricity carries you further in a smaller, lighter car.

3. The language can be confusing

Beware of the terminology around charging. The terms Fast, Rapid and Ultra-Rapid are bandied around, but there is no hard industry definition. It’s all related to the rate a charger puts power into the car’s batteries.

4. 30 minutes is often enough

A big selling point is how much you can charge in the time it takes to buy a coffee and take a comfort break. Many electric cars come with the claim you can charge to 80 percent capacity in 30 minutes, although with longer range cars, you’ll need a very powerful charger to achieve that. Half an hour at a public charging point could give you another 100 miles in a typical small EV, however.

JustCharge Home EV Grant

5. You can take your time at home

Charging at home doesn’t need to be a rush job, however. Most electric cars can be recharged overnight, making use of off-peak electricity and leaving you with maximum range the following morning.

It’s also unlikely that you’ll park up at the end of the day with just a handful of miles left in the battery, so your overnight charge is likely to be more of a top-up up than a full fill. That means even cars with massive batteries, like the Audi E-tron 55, can get a useful dose, although if you wanted to charge the Audi from empty at home it could take 14 hours.

6. Charging at work could be free

This is an ideal scenario for many, allowing you to top up again, possibly using electricity your employer is paying for. Many workplaces now have similar recharging stations to those used in private homes.

7. Charging on the go is trickiest

This is where it matters most, and it’s the area where owning a Tesla gives you an advantage. Not only do you get impressive battery range on Tesla cars, the company’s Supercharger network promises ‘the world’s fastest electric vehicle charging’. There’s also a network throughout Europe, which makes long-distance travel easier.

For everyone else, it’s important to understand what you’ll be offered when you pull in for a power boost. Many locations offer a choice of charging. There could well be a Type 2 slow charger, Type 2 fast charger, plus a CCS rapid charger of maybe 50kW and 100kW.

Here is what Pod Point says about recharging times for two different electric cars and a plug-in hybrid:

VehicleEmpty to full charging time***
ModelBattery3.7kW slow7kW fast22kW fast43-50kW rapid150kW rapid
Volkswagen ID.582kWh22 hrs12 hrs8 hrs1 hr30 mins
Tesla Model S Standard Range (2022)75kWh21 hrs11 hrs5 hrs1 hr30 mins
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (2018)13.8kWh4 hrs4 hrs4 hrs40 minsCan’t use
this kind of charger

This table gives you some ballpark figures, and a sense of what you’ll encounter when you arrive at a friend’s house and plug into their domestic socket (Slow), to using your own home wallbox and lesser public charging points (Fast), and finally to the public chargers that are mostly found on major roads and motorways (Rapid and Ultra-Rapid).

Is servicing and maintenance cheaper on an electric car?

Electric car battery

In the vast majority of cases, an electric car will be cheaper to maintain than a petrol or diesel car. Indeed, a study by Compare the Market found that the annual cost of running an electric vehicle is now £528 cheaper on average than a petrol car.

This difference is mainly due to lower ‘fuel’ costs and no road tax (VED) charges. However, the lower cost of maintenance for an EV is also a factor.

This is partly because an electric car has fewer moving parts, while a conventional car is powered by a complex engine and transmission that requires regular servicing. Just consider some of the components an electric car doesn’t have: clutch, fuel pump, drive belt, spark plugs, etc.

Less to go wrong means less to maintain – and less impact on your wallet. And that’s before you factor in the absence of oil and fuel filters.

Can an electric car save you money?

Electric car maintenance

A service plan on a BMW iX3 costs £14.99 a month, which, after 36 months, gives a total of £539.64. Compare this with the plan on a BMW X3, which costs £25.99 a month – £935.64 after 36 months. In other words, a saving of around £400 after three years of driving.

There’s more good news if we use a 2022 Kia e-Niro 3 electric car as an example. Based on a vehicle with 22,000 miles on the clock, a service plan based on two scheduled services (30,000 miles/36 months and 40,000 miles/48 months), the cost would be £409 – or around £45 a month. On a Niro hybrid of similar age and mileage, the price rockets to £729 or £81 a month.

You don’t have to sign up for a fixed price service plan to save money, either. Say you own a 2023 Hyundai Ioniq Electric with 10,000 miles on the clock. The next serviced schedule (20,000 miles) will cost £177.78 and the 30,000 miles service will cost £77.57. For an Ioniq hybrid, these prices increase to £307.57 and £190.45, respectively.

All the above prices are correct at the time of writing (June 2024).

What needs servicing on an EV?

Electric car charging

Although the service intervals might be longer, it’s important to stick to the manufacturer’s recommended schedule. This is especially important when the car reaches its third birthday, at which point it will require its first MOT.

Some maintenance work will be familiar to owners of petrol and diesel cars. For example, an electric car service will include checks and/or maintenance of the tyres, steering and suspension components, plus the likes of the climate control system, windscreen wipers and washer fluid. The brake fluid and coolant will also need checking and, if necessary, to be topped up or replaced.

You could discover that you’ll need to change the tyres more regularly on an electric car. The extra weight of the vehicle will increase the rate of wear. Accurate wheel alignment is essential to prevent premature tyre wear, too.

In the main, it’s all positive news for electric cars. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that, for now at least, electric cars are more expensive to buy, which might offset the maintenance savings.

It’s also worth mentioning that electric cars aren’t immune from problems. Autotech Training, a company specialising in all forms of automotive industry skills, has outlined some of the potential issues with EVs. These include battery failure, charging errors, transmission problems, and software or electronic malfunction.

The key is to approach buying a used electric vehicle in the same way you would a standard petrol or diesel car. Do your homework, check the details of the manufacturer or aftermarket warranty, and make sure you get the car serviced at the recommended intervals. A fixed price service plan might be a sensible investment as well, to help manage your car maintenance costs.

How much company car tax could I save with an electric car?

Volvo EX30
Volvo EX30

The latest HMRC figures suggest there are around 720,000 employees paying company car tax in the UK. This is down from nearly a million employees in 2015/16, with the government blaming the Covid-19 pandemic and the downturn in the economy for the decline in popularity.

That said, fleet vehicles remain very popular. After three years or so of commuting and working for a living, these cars are sold second-hand at a good price. Which is why, with one eye on speeding up the adoption of electric vehicles, the government is keen to incentivise their use as company cars.

In this short guide, we outline just how much tax fleet car drivers who go electric could save.

What is company car tax?

Charging an electric car

First, a little reminder. Company cars that are also used by employees for private motoring are considered employment benefits. Users therefore have to pay Benefit-in-Kind tax, known as BiK.

This tax is based on the list price of the car, its CO2 emissions and which salary tax band the employee is in. Employees can pay up to 37 percent BiK tax, on a sliding scale depending on the car’s CO2 emissions.

For several years, BiK tax has become increasingly expensive. The government has tried to encourage people into lower-CO2 vehicles, while car list prices have gradually increased.

Take a popular company car: the Nissan Qashqai 1.3 DIG-T 140 Acenta Premium. It costs £30,140, and CO2 emissions of 142g/km place it in a 33 percent BiK tax band (correct in June 2024). For a 40 percent tax payer, that results in a whopping £3,978 BiK tax bill.

No wonder so many company car drivers are leaving these schemes and buying their own cars – often older, more polluting models, which completely counters the government drive to cleaner cars. Enter the electric car.

Electric car BiK tax savings

Hyundai Ioniq 5

After 6 April 2020, company car tax for electric cars changed. For the first 2020/21 tax year, it was reduced to zero percent.

Now we’re into the 2024/25 tax year, the rate for new cars has risen, albeit still only to two percent BiK. In 2025/26, it rises to three percent, followed by four percent in 2026/27 and five percent in 2027/28. 

This means electric company car drivers will pay no more than five percent BiK on their vehicle until April 2028. It is an extraordinarily appealing deal.

If that Nissan Qashqai driver can convince his or her bosses to offer an electric car, he or she will go from paying £331.59 a month to around the same figure per year – or potentially even less, depending on the EV chosen.

What are the other benefits for electric company cars?

Charging an electric car

It’s not just for saving on Benefit-in-Kind tax that electric company cars make sense. Employees will also pay no fuel tax – because they don’t use any.

And while HMRC has classified electricity as a fuel for claim-back purposes, the reimbursement rate of 8p per mile shows just what money-savers EVs will be for companies as well.

Tax experts will like the fact that, until 31 March 2025, electric vehicles with zero CO2 emissions qualify for a 100 percent first-year allowance. This means savvy companies can offset the cost of the car against their profits. And the same allowance applies to businesses that install electric charging points, too.

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