Research by leading smart charging solutions provider NewMotion has found that UK drivers could save at least £45.6 million over the May Bank Holiday weekend, if all motorists used battery powered electric vehicles instead of petrol and diesel cars.
Data, obtained from the RAC Foundation, found that the average leisure trip undertaken by car this Bank Holiday weekend will be 10.7 miles. At today’s petrol price of 127.3 pence per litre, this 10.7 mile journey would cost drivers up to £1.19 in a new fuel-efficient petrol car. Moreover, diesel car drivers would face a cost of £1.02 to complete this trip at today’s diesel price of 130.2 pence per litre. In reality, these costs are likely to be significantly higher when real-world driving conditions and older, less fuel efficient cars are taken into consideration.
Alternatively, NewMotion found that the same journey in a 30 kWh Nissan Leaf could cost only £0.47. NewMotion also discovered that this cost fell to as little as £0.21 if the Nissan Leaf was charged overnight, when electricity prices are cheaper. The vehicle could be fully charged for just £2.37 and would drive for over 100 miles.
For a single trip this might not sound significant, however, the RAC Foundation also predicts that some 50 million leisure trips will be made by cars, vans and taxis on the UK’s roads between Saturday 26th May and Monday 28th May. As such, NewMotion estimates that if motorists chose to adopt EVs over the May Bank Holiday weekend, collectively, as a nation, the UK could save a massive £45.6 million. In addition, this saving does not even take into account other discounts enjoyed by EVs such as lower Vehicle Excise Duty, exemption from the London Congestion Charge and free parking opportunities in city centres across the UK.
Methodology
NewMotion reached the figure of £45.6 million by comparing the cost of 50,000,000 10.7-mile leisure trips made in petrol and diesel vehicles with how much it would cost a Nissan Leaf to make 50,000,000 10.7-mile leisure journeys:
The cost of 50,000,000 car journeys in petrol and diesel vehicles:
– 60% of 50,000,000 = 30,000,000 (estimated proportion of trips in petrol cars)
– 40% of 50,000,000 = 20,000,000 (estimated proportion of trips in diesel cars)
– 30,000,000 x £1.19 (cost of a 10.7 mile journey in a petrol car) = £35,700,000
– 20,000,000 x £1.02 (cost of a 10.7 mile journey in a diesel car) = £20,400,000
– £35,700,000 + £20,400,000 = £56,100,000 (total cost of 50,000,000 journeys made by petrol and diesel cars)
The cost of 50,000,000 car journeys in EVs:
– 50,000,000 x £0.21 (cost of 10.7 mile journey in a Nissan Leaf when charged at night) = £10,500,000
– £56,100,000 – £10,500,000 = £45,600,000 (total saving to UK drivers if all motorists switched to electric over the May Bank Holiday Weekend)
