Driving electric has been cheaper for a while. Now it’s becoming obvious

Petrol and diesel prices are rising again across the UK.

And according to the RAC, they’re expected to keep climbing.

For most drivers, that means one thing: higher costs, almost overnight.

It’s a familiar pattern.

Global events shift, oil prices react, and within days the impact shows up at the pump.

But not everyone is feeling it in the same way.

A recent Octopus EV driver survey found that 77% of our drivers say they feel protected from sudden petrol price spikes.

Because when you drive electric, you’re no longer tied to the same system.

Instead of relying on oil, with all its volatility, electric cars run on electricity, which can be far cheaper and more predictable, especially when you charge at the right times.

As one EV driver recently told us:

“I used to dread filling up and watching the price tick up. Now I just plug in and don’t really think about it anymore, it’s a completely different feeling.”

That difference - not just in cost, but in how it feels - is what more drivers are starting to notice.

For many drivers, the shift is significant.

• Around £1,700 a year on petrol
• Compared to roughly £300–£400 a year on electricity

That’s not a marginal saving, it’s a meaningful change in the cost of driving.

And it’s not just about price. It’s about predictability.

You’re not the only one thinking about this.

Interest in electric cars has increased by 36% in recent weeks, as more drivers start questioning whether staying on petrol still makes sense.

And globally, the shift is already well underway.

Electric vehicles are now reducing oil demand by the equivalent of 1.7 million barrels every single day, a trend that’s accelerating as more people switch.

Petrol prices move with global oil markets.

That means:

• Prices can rise quickly
• Costs are hard to predict
• Drivers have very little control

Electric driving works differently.

You can:

• Charge at different times of day
• Take advantage of lower-cost electricity
• Better predict what driving will cost each month

That’s a big part of why so many EV drivers say they feel more in control.

Here’s what savings currently look like in practice based on three charging scenarios:

The key takeaway: 

However you charge, an electric car will cost you less to run than a petrol car

For a long time, one of the biggest questions about electric cars was:

“Would this actually work for me?”

For many drivers now, the answer is increasingly: yes

Not because everything has suddenly changed overnight, but because the combination of lower running costs and more charging options has been steadily improving for a while.

Some drivers charge at home. Others use a mix of local kerb-side or lamppost chargers, workplace charging and public networks.

What’s changed is how accessible those options have become and how they’ve started to work in everyday life.

Which means electric driving is no longer something that only works in ideal conditions. It’s something that’s working for more and more people, in more and more situations.

And crucially:

It still breaks the link with petrol prices

So instead of reacting to fuel costs, you have more control over how you power your car.

That’s a big part of why so many drivers are no longer asking If it works, but starting to see how it could work for them.

To make this more real, here are a couple of examples of what switching to an EV can look like today:

Vauxhall Frontera

• £259 per month lease on a four year contract (3 months upfront, 5k mileage)
• £16.66 per month charging costs based on home charging on EV Saver tariff

Leapmotor B10

• £299 lease per month on a four year contract (3 months upfront, 5k mileage)
• £16.66 per month charging costs based on home charging on EV Saver tariff

Volkswagen ID.3

• £319 per month on a three year contract (3 months upfront, 5k mileage)
• £16.66 per month charging costs based on home charging on EV Saver tariff

Tesla Model Y

• £379 per month on a three year contract (3 months upfront, 5k mileage)
• £16.66 per month charging costs based on home charging on EV Saver tariff

The key point:

It’s not just about long-term savings anymore, the monthly lease and running costs are starting to align in a way that makes switching more achievable.

For a long time, switching to an EV was about the future.

Lower emissions. New technology. Doing the right thing.

But right now, something more immediate is happening.

The everyday cost of driving is starting to shift.

Which is why more drivers are asking a different question:

Not

“Should I switch someday?”

But

“Why am I still paying for petrol now?”

If you’re starting to think about switching, the next step is simple:

Explore EV options and see what you could save

36% increase in people actively enquiring about making the switch: Octopus EV leasing enquiries 1st-22nd March vs 8th-28th February 2026

77% of EV drivers told us they feel protected from fuel price fluctuations: We surveyed 4,127 Octopus EV drivers who rated how protected they felt from petrol price fluctuations as 4 or 5 out of 5. 

Charging costs

Home charging costs are calculated based on prices from 1st April 2026, charging off-peak using Octopus Energy’s Intelligent Octopus Go - EV Saver tariff at 7p per kWh.

Public charging costs are based on the AA’s EV Recharge Report.

We based the mix of home and public charging on a typical split of doing 65% of charging at home, 22% on rapid public chargers and 13% at work. This split is based on research by Roland Berger.

Typical workplace charging cost is 22p per kWh. We’ve assumed employers will pass on the cost to employees at an average of their commercial energy rates. Sourced from Business Energy deals.

To calculate the cost to charge the MG4 EV we’ve assumed a usable battery of 61.7kWh.