Electric cars have been growing in popularity across Europe in recent years with EVs making up 10.5% of all new car registrations in the European union in 2020 compared to just 3% the previous year.
Switcher.ie looked at the cost of electricity across Europe and worked out how much you would pay on average to charge a vehicle in different countries across Europe.
Germany came out as the most expensive country to charge an electric car in Europe costing on average €19.02 per charge, €16.11 more per charge than Ukraine, the cheapest country in Europe.
Top 10 most expensive countries
1. Germany
Germany is the most expensive country to charge an EV in Europe. 2020 saw the market share of electric vehicles move from 4.9% to 6.7%. Germany currently offers electric car owners benefits like ownership tax exemption for 10 years and gives purchase subsidies for certain cars.
2. Denmark
Denmark is the second most expensive country in Europe to charge an EV. There are currently about 20,000 electric cars on Danish roads, a tiny fraction of the 2.5 million total. The parliament wants to link the amount of Co2 produced by a car to the tax it pays and they also don’t pay for public parking in most places.
3. Belgium
Belgium added 8,645 new EV’s to its roads in 2020 despite the number of total cars falling. In 2020, there was still only 23,983 electric cars registered in Belgium, less than 0.4% of all cars. Zero emissions cars are exempt from annual road taxes and registration taxes in Flanders and pay both at a lower rate in other regions.
4. Ireland
Ireland, the 4th most expensive country in Europe to charge an EV, registered 4,368 new EV’s in 2020. This was slightly higher than the year before but a much larger percentage of total registered vehicles. There are lots of benefits on offer in Ireland such as grants and reduced taxes.
5. Spain
In 2020, EV registrations in Spain hit 20,156 but still only make up about 1.95% of the entire market. New incentives in Spain will see buyers offered a subsidy on an EV if they scrap a vehicle that’s over 10 years old.
6. Italy
Italy’s electric car market tripled in 2020 with over 32,000 new registrations of EVs. There are currently purchase subsidies available in Italy, the amount depends on if you scrap an old car.
7. United Kingdom
Despite being the seventh most expensive country to charge an EV, the UK saw a huge surge in EV sales in 2020. 108,205 EVs were sold, a 180% year on year rise and a 6.6% market share. The UK offers grants towards the cost of new EVs as well as tax benefits.
8. Cyprus
Cyprus is the 8th most expensive country in Europe to charge a car and in 2020 there were only 251 EVs on the road. Cyprus offers incentives in the form of subsidies if you scrap in a vehicle over 15 years to buy an EV.
9. Portugal
In 2020, 12% of new car sales in Portugal were EVs, they have one of the highest EV market shares in the world. Portugal has a fund allocated to give out subsidies to incentivise EV ownership as well as offering tax benefits.
10. Liechtenstein
In the 10th most expensive country in Europe, there were only 222 EVs on the road in 2020. Liechtenstein offers monetary incentives to those buying EVs that meet certain criteria.
Top 10 cheapest countries
1. Ukraine
The cheapest country to charge an EV in Europe is Ukraine, averaging at only €2.91 a charge. Its electric car market has recently taken off with 375% growth between the years 2018 and 2020.
2. Kosovo
Kosovo is the second cheapest country to charge an electric car in Europe. Electric cars haven’t taken off in the country, however, new incentives are expected to be introduced to promote the use of electric cars like the elimination of VAT and customs tax.
3. Serbia
The third cheapest country in Europe to charge an EV is Serbia. They are introducing new incentives such as purchase subsidies to try to get the purchase of electric vehicles up.
4. North Macedonia
North Macedonia is the fourth cheapest country in Europe to charge an Electric vehicle. The government introduced an eco-sticker scheme to mark vehicles by their eco-rating and offer grants to upgrade cars to less polluting fuels.
5. Bosnia and Herzegovina
The fifth cheapest country to charge an electric car in Europe is Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first electric car chargers were installed in Bosnia in 2018 and there have previously been some incentives offered to go electric.
6. Turkey
In 2020 there were 2,899 electric vehicles in Turkey, the sixth cheapest country to charge an EV in Europe. There can be tax benefits to owning an electric vehicle in Turkey.
7. Bulgaria
The seventh cheapest country to charge an EV in Europe is Bulgaria, there were 1,404 electric vehicles on the road in 2020. Bulgaria offers incentives to EV owners such as lower vehicle taxes.
8. Hungary
In 2020 there were 6,101 electric vehicles on the roads in Hungary. There are national and local incentives to owning an electric vehicle in Hungary, such as tax benefits as well as things like free parking.
9. Moldova
Moldova is the ninth cheapest country to charge an Electric Vehicle in Europe. In 2020 22 electric vehicle charging stations were installed to help encourage uptake of electric vehicles.
10. Estonia
In 2020 there were 1,769 electric vehicles on the roads in Estonia, there is a state subsidy offered for the purchase of electric vehicles of up to 50% of the vehicle price.
