Are fuel prices pushing you towards an EV?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/12/interest-evs-surge-europe-fuel-prices-iran-war

And if we all jump to EVs at once how do we make sure we have enough energy to charge them.

I know people will say solar and wind, but that takes a long time to build.

We will be a long time relying on ICE vehicles yet.

We're not all going to jump into EVs immediately, they're not suitable for anyone without their own driveway in their current guise anyway. I'm just saying that this war should highlight to people that there is going to be a benefit in moving away from oil other than the environment.

If you've ever looked at an EV and thought nah my diesel can do 1000km on a tank and can be refueled in 3 minutes, why would I ever want an EV? Well maybe understand that it is going to be a trade-off, I don't see EVs ever being as convenient as ICE vehicles but there are other benefits to them. I suspect this trade-off is going to be tipped more towards the EV over the coming years, the government stepping in with a rescue package every time the price of oil shoots up isn't sustainable.

EV's might be more convenient for someone who lives nowhere near a petrol station and never drives outside the range of their EV but realistically for anyone who does semi-regular long spins or lives near multiple petrol stations an ICE car is always going to be more convenient. And that's coming from someone who has driven both for multiple years now.

I've a genuine question and maybe here is as good a place as any to ask it.

When I've looked up charging times for an EV, I've found that it generally says things like "when using Level 3 chargers, 10% to 80% charge time can typically occur in 25 to 30 minutes".

i.e. it always seems to give charging time only to 80% charge. Not 100%.

Why is this? Does charging time slow down significantly after that?

I think for battery life you are only supposed to charge to 80%

Don't use my car enough to be hoonest, live a 15 minute life for the most part so cycle, walk and scoot mainly.

But, why haven't the government invested in the infrastructure? I don't have off-street parking so its a long way off.

We need super-fast charging points, and loads of them, for this to become a viable alternative for many people. I don't get why the government haven't invested massively in this to wean the country off fossil fuels.

If I needed my car for commuting, I'd 100% be getting one.

I love the theory behind it, and the environmental impact obviously, but just don't see the financial justification at the moment given I don't use my car enough.

Really because you can provide loads of really good fast chargers everywhere, but then you need the electricity infrastructure to support it, which we don't have. We are improving, but then you have to have planning permission for grid upgrades, overhead pylons, large interconnectors, and no-one wants that anywhere near them. So its not as easy for our government (or any government really) to do.

Edit: Even before the war I was thinking of an EV around August/September time, just after I do a 2000km+ road trip around the UK. Not the best idea to do such a large roadtrip having just bought an EV. Now, its definitely going to happen after that.

Penny wise and pound foolish is the saying that comes to mind, especially since I only ever buy second hand

There’s little resale value in EVs which is a concern and I seen massive deterioration in battery in my phev with barely any mileage

And of course electric prices have risen massively in last few years and will continue to do so as we become more and more reliable on gas to backup the unreliable wind production

Thanks. A follow-on question:

Am mindful of how with ICE cars, the manufacturer's figures for mpg don't exactly tally with real-world experience, as the manufacturer figures are based on ideal driving conditions. For instance, for the diesel car I currently drive, the manufacturer figure is 58.9 mpg, whereas what I really get is about 45 mpg - i.e. about 75% of the quoted figure.

Would expect with EVs, the same sort of thing applies - e.g. if a manufacturer says up to 500km on a full charge, the real figure might be 20% to 25% lower - i.e. around 375 to 400 km.

Now if you only charge to 80% - the real distance you could actually travel with a supposed 500km range is really only around 300 to 320 km.

Am I correct in this line of thinking?

So, you don't think the cost of electricity is eventually going to rise too?

We have immediate impact on Petrol and Diesel but Gas and Electric will surely follow and, public charging in no time at all.

Home charging unless you get Solar (which is not free on top of the cost of the replacement EV car for the ICE) and, you already have a driveway to charge it.

Surely, unless in the market to change the car anyhow the additional, unnecessary costs of changeover will outstrip any temporary (or otherwise) increase in the cost per litre of fuel.

There's a relatively small cohort of people this will work for.

Well my brother has solar that fuels his ev, has saved loads compared to when they didn't have evs.

All cars depreciate, some faster than others but theres a few people in my town that have gotten over a decade out of the Nissan leafs.

Yes, all manufacturer published economy figures whether l/100km or kWh/100km should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Those figures are calculated in strict laboratory test conditions at specific temperatures, travel speeds etc. They are calculated to allow a comparison across vehicles tested to the same standard, not to be indicative of real world economy. WLTP has helped a little in that regard but ultimately these figures are a rough indication and should be treated as such.

Had my car continued to behave itself I would have kept it- I despise having a car loan 😀- but it was what it was and car was approaching 20 years so it did me well for the 10 years I had it.

I think you’re doing the right thing considering you don’t have the financial means right now- maybe try saving a bit each month into a “car fund” if you can at all - it will help take a bit of the sting out of things later.

I’ve always been a “run it into the ground” sort of owner - probably not always the right thing to do in hindsight - biting the bullet on a new or near new car and keeping 10 years might be more cost effective