Leading electric vehicle (EV) charging network Be.EV today announces a major tipping point in the UK’s EV transition, as public charging finally becomes cheaper than running a fossil fuel car.

The introduction of a new 39p/kWh charging subscription tariff from the Octopus-backed network, which applies to all chargers regardless of speed or time of day, levels the playing field for 3.9 million households who do not have access to a driveway where they can cheaply charge an EV on, making it viable for millions of people to choose an EV over a fossil fuel car.

Analysis of local government data shows it costs £545 more per year to run an EV purely on rapid public chargers than it does to run a fossil fuel car. An average fossil fuel car driver spends £760 a year filling up, while the average EV driver reliant on publicly charging their EV spends £1,119 a year.

This cost disparity means it has not until now been economically viable for those without driveways to charge an EV using cheap rates at home.

Analysis of census data shows 9.2 million households do not have access to a driveway where they could charge a car on, but with the introduction of Be.EV’s new subscription tariff, 3.8 million of those households gain access to charging that is cheaper than fossil fuels.

Drivers in Birmingham, where 37% of households do not have access to a driveway, stand to benefit the most, with 162,256 households now able to easily access charging that is cheaper than fossil fuels.

The change also marks a significant milestone for the North, which has historically had less EV infrastructure investment. A total of 1.6 million households across the North gain access to charging that is cheaper than fossil fuels, with Leeds (114,919), Manchester (99,379) and Sheffield (96,853) the biggest areas to benefit.

Closing the gap between the ‘have-drives and have-nots’ has been a drag on EV uptake as the government’s 2030 target for 80% of new vehicles to be electric looms, despite it scrapping a £950m fund for installing electric car chargers near motorways.

Based on analysis of official car use data across the UK, an EV driver reliant on public charging using Be.EV’s new £9.99 monthly The Mega subscription – which enables drivers to charge for t 39p/kWh on the company’s network of rapid and ultra-rapid chargers at any time of day – would spend an average of £694 per year. This is compared to £760 for fossil fuels, tipping the balance in favour of EVs for millions of people without driveways by £66 a year.

All EV drivers can access Be.EV’s off-peak ultra-rapid charging rate of 39p/kWh without The Mega subscription – 37p/kWh cheaper than UK rapid/ultra-rapid charging average and £186 a year cheaper than fossil fuels.

Fossil fuel drivers in Norwich, where mileage is highest, probably due to relative rurality, stand to save the most in the UK by switching to a publicly-charged EV, an average of £189 a year, including subscription costs. A full list of potential savings by representative locations is available at the end of this press release.

Current EV drivers reliant on public charging will save even more than fossil fuel drivers. An EV driver using the current network of public chargers, which cost an average of 52p/kWh for slow/fast and 76p/kWh for rapid/ ultra-rapid, will save £73 and £425 annually respectively with Be.EV’s subscription, an average of £248.

Asif Ghafoor, CEO at Be.EV, said:

“It has been a sticking point that the cost benefits of EV ownership should only be available to those with a driveway, so we’re pleased to mark this tipping point by bringing 3.7 million more households into the fold.

“The gap between ‘have-drives and have-nots’ has long been a drag on EV uptake but is finally closing thanks to our market-leading subscription tariff.

“With our new rate, the balance has finally tipped – we have entered a new phase of EV uptake, where it finally makes financial sense for millions more people to buy an electric vehicle, rather than a dirty fossil fuel car.

“The new tariff will be especially welcome by current EV drivers without driveways who are reliant on dodgy lamppost chargers which can be unreliable and have opaque pricing.

“Our offer is simple: a £9.99 a month subscription gets you access to our whole network, anytime of day, any type of charger. A bit like a railcard, the subscription cost is immediately offset by the savings.

“The government could go a step further and scrap VAT on public charging – it would reduce the cost even further and get more EVs on the road, getting us even closer to hitting its 2030 target.

“If you’re on a subscription detox after too many streaming services, grab an ultra-rapid charge after 7pm with the Be.EV app for the same great 39p/kWh price. Affordable charging for every driver is here.