EV charging Speeds & Costs

The time it takes to charge an electric car depends on the size of the battery and the power the charger is putting out. You can use these values to calculate how long it will take to charge your EV.
 

In theory, that means a Renault Zoe  with a 52kWh battery will take just over an hour to charge using a 50kW rapid charger. Whereas a newer, more expensive electric car like a Kia EV6 will take around half an hour to charge using a 350kW ultra-rapid charger. 

However, that's unlikely to happen in practice because there are two key variable here: the average speed of the charge throughout the session, and the charging speed the car can actually accept. 

Officially, the Renault Zoe will accept a maximum of 46kW, while a Kia EV6 will accept a much higher maximum of 233kW.

But both cars will likely only sustain that speed for 70% of the charge time, tailing off as the battery fills up. 

This is why car manufacturers tend to quote a 10-80% charge time for their electric cars. In the Renault, that figure is 56 minutes, while the Kia manages a 10-80% charge in just 16 minutes. 

Charging costs 

The energy price cap for households on a standard variable tariff from 1 October to 31 December 2024 is £0.245 per kWh; at this price, a 100kWh EV would cost £24.50 to charge from 0-100%.

If your EV has a 50kWh battery you could halve these costs, whereas an 80kWh EV would be 80% of those prices (ie: £19.60 at £0.245 per kWh).

The bad news is public chargers are much more expensive than home charging. Each network charges a different amount for their electricity, just as petrol stations set their own prices.

The Ionity network charges £0.74 per kWh, so a 100kWh EV would cost £74 to charge from full to empty, and a 50kWh EV would cost £37.00. A car that will cover five miles per kWh will cost 14.8 pence per mile if using Ionity, whereas an EV that does 2.5 miles per kWh will cost 29.6 pence.

BP Pulse charges between £0.44 and £0.85 depending both on the speed of the charger being used, and whether you are a subscriber or a guest user.

Instavolt chargers all cost £0.85 per kWh, so a full recharge will cost you more – £85 if you charge a 100kWh EV from empty.