5 Tips to Reduce Your Electric Car Running Costs in 2026
Source: Shutterstock
For anyone wondering whether it is cheaper to drive an EV in 2026 than a petrol car, the honest answer is: it depends on how you manage it.
EV vs petrol costs have shifted considerably over the past few years. EVs have become more affordable to lease - particularly through salary sacrifice schemes, where savings of 20–50% on the vehicle itself are standard. But energy prices have risen sharply from pre-2021 levels and, while they appear to have stabilised from their peak, the cost of charging remains a meaningful line item for most drivers.
The result is that the financial advantage of going electric doesn't look after itself. If you're charging without a strategy - using whichever charger is nearest, on a standard home tariff, paying from your take-home pay - you're leaving money on the table every month.
These five EV driving tips are designed to change that. Whether you've been driving electric for years or you're looking for tips for new EV owners just getting started, each one is practical, specific, and actionable. Some will take minutes to set up. The first will reduce your EV bills more than the other four combined. Here's how to make driving an electric car cheaper in 2026!
Tip #1: Use The Charge Scheme (The Ultimate Savings Hack)
If you're looking for the best way to save on EV charging, the answer isn't a discount code or a loyalty scheme. It's salary sacrifice - and specifically, extending it to cover your charging costs as well as your car.
If you're driving an EV through salary sacrifice, you already understand the core logic: by giving up a portion of your gross salary in exchange for a non-cash benefit, you reduce your taxable income and pay significantly less for the same thing.
That logic applies to your car. But until recently, it stopped there. Every time you charged - at home overnight, at a public rapid charger on the motorway, at a workplace charge point - you were paying from your take-home pay, after income tax and National Insurance had already been deducted.
The Charge Scheme changes that. It's the UK's first salary sacrifice benefit dedicated entirely to EV charging, and it extends the same pre-tax payment principle to cover all your charging costs across home, workplace, and public charging. For drivers trying to find cheap EV charging without sacrificing convenience or network access, it's the most effective option available.
How Much Can You Save Through Salary Sacrifice Charging?
The size of your savings depends on your tax bracket:
Basic rate taxpayers (20% income tax + 8% NI) save approximately 32% on every charge
Higher rate taxpayers (40% income tax + 2% NI) save approximately 42% on every charge
Additional rate taxpayers save up to 50%
For a higher-rate taxpayer doing 10,000 miles per year at average public charging rates, that translates to a saving of £500–£1,000 annually on charging alone - on top of the savings already made on the vehicle!
How Does The Charge Scheme Work?
You use The Charge Scheme RFID card at any of 76,000+ public charge points across the UK, including BP Pulse, Shell Recharge, and Pod Point. The question of home vs public charging doesn't complicate things - both are covered.
At home, you charge as normal and submit a mileage reading at the end of the month. That's all the admin required, and it takes around 10 seconds. Your employer deducts your charging costs from your gross salary before your payslip is processed.
The card is included in your benefit setup - there's no additional cost to obtain it, and it arrives within 3–5 working days of signing up. No Benefit-in-Kind tax applies to employer-provided charging when structured correctly.
What if I already have An EV arrangement?
The Charge Scheme is a bolt-on benefit. It doesn't require you to change your car, your lease, or your existing salary sacrifice arrangement. Whether you drive through The Electric Car Scheme, a different salary sacrifice provider, a personal lease, or a car you own outright, The Charge Scheme adds on without disruption!
Key Takeaways
The Charge Scheme salary sacrifices all charging costs - home, work, and in public
Basic rate taxpayers save ~32%; higher rate taxpayers save ~42% per charge
One card covers 76,000+ UK charge points with no additional cost
Bolt-on setup means no disruption to your existing car arrangement
Tip #2: Optimise Your Home Energy Tariff
For drivers with a home charger, the overnight rate you pay for electricity is one of the most controllable variables in your running costs - and one that many EV drivers haven't yet optimised.
Standard domestic electricity tariffs don't distinguish between when you use power. You pay the same per kWh whether you're running the kettle at noon or charging your car at 2 am. EV energy tariffs - specifically time-of-use (ToU) products - are designed differently: they offer significantly reduced rates during off-peak hours, typically overnight, when demand on the grid is low.
Several major suppliers now offer tariffs built specifically for EV drivers. For example, OVO Energy and EDF offer EV-oriented time-of-use products worth comparing.
What to look for in a ToU tariff
A dedicated off-peak window, typically between 11pm and 6am or similar
Compatibility with your smart charger or vehicle's scheduled charging function
No standing charge increases that offset the unit rate savings
Smart meter compatibility - most ToU tariffs require one
If your EV or home charger supports scheduled charging (most do), you set the charge window once, and your car handles the rest automatically. You wake up to a full battery at the cheapest rate available!
The combined effect With The Charge Scheme
Home charging through The Charge Scheme is also salary sacrificed. So you're not choosing between these two approaches - they stack. A lower per-kWh rate at home, paid from your gross salary rather than your net pay, compounds both savings simultaneously.
Key Takeaways
EV energy tariffs offer lower overnight rates for home EV charging
Several UK suppliers now offer EV-specific tariffs worth comparing
Scheduled charging automates the process - set it once, benefit every night
Home charging savings stack with The Charge Scheme's salary sacrifice deduction
Tip #3: Master Your Regenerative Braking
Regenerative braking is one of the most effective tools available to EV drivers for range optimisation - and one of the least discussed outside enthusiast circles. Understanding how to use it actively, rather than passively, can make a measurable difference to your range on every journey.
How Does Regenerative Braking Work?
In a conventional petrol car, the energy generated when you brake is lost as heat through the brake pads and discs. In an electric vehicle, regenerative braking captures that kinetic energy and converts it back into electricity, feeding it into the battery. The harder and more frequently you brake, the more energy you would otherwise waste - and the more regenerative braking can recover.
Most EVs offer adjustable levels of regenerative braking, typically controlled through drive mode settings or paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. At the highest setting, lifting your foot off the accelerator creates enough resistance to slow the car substantially without touching the brake pedal at all. This is commonly called one-pedal driving.
One-pedal driving in practice
One-pedal driving takes a short adjustment period - most drivers are comfortable with it within a week or two of regular use. The technique is straightforward: anticipate stops and junctions earlier than you would in a petrol car, and begin lifting off the accelerator in good time. The car decelerates firmly, recovers energy, and in many cases comes to a complete stop without the brake pedal being needed at all.
The efficiency gains are most noticeable in urban and suburban driving, where frequent stops and speed changes are the norm. Motorway driving involves less braking by nature, so the benefit is more limited there, though coasting downhill with high regen engaged can still recover useful energy on longer runs!
The secondary benefit: reduced brake wear
Because regenerative braking does the work that friction brakes would otherwise do, EV brake pads and discs wear significantly more slowly than their petrol equivalents. For many EV drivers, brake pad replacement is an infrequent maintenance item rather than a routine one - a modest but real reduction in long-term running costs.
Key Takeaways
Regenerative braking recovers kinetic energy and returns it to the battery
One-pedal driving maximises recovery - most drivers adapt within a week or two
Urban driving sees the greatest efficiency gains from active regen use
Slower brake wear reduces long-term maintenance costs for EV drivers
Tip #4: Avoid the "Rapid Premium" Where Possible
Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers are a genuinely useful part of the public charging network - particularly on long motorway journeys where time is the priority. But they come at a premium, and using them when a slower, cheaper option would serve you just as well is one of the more avoidable costs in EV ownership.
Understanding the pricing gap
On a pay-as-you-go basis, rapid chargers (50–149kW) and ultra-rapid chargers (150kW+) typically charge significantly more per kWh than slower destination chargers.
Destination chargers - the 7kW and 22kW units you'll find at supermarkets, retail parks, leisure centres, and workplaces - typically carry much lower per-kWh rates. For drivers who are already stopping somewhere for 45 minutes to an hour, using a destination charger during that time costs less per kWh and requires no additional effort.
The practical approach
It sounds simple, but make sure to match the charger to the time you have available.
Shopping trip, gym visit, or working day? A 7kW or 22kW destination charger will add 30-90 miles of range during the time you'd be there anyway
En-route top-up on a long journey where 20–30 minutes is all you need? A rapid or ultra-rapid charger is the right choice
The mistake most new EV drivers make is defaulting to rapid chargers out of habit - reaching for the fastest option even when they're about to spend an hour somewhere with a 7kW charger in the car park. Over the course of a year, the difference in per-kWh costs between those two decisions adds up.
With The Charge Scheme, the gap matters less… but It still matters
Because The Charge Scheme applies the salary sacrifice saving across all public charging, the effective cost of both destination and rapid charging falls. But the saving is applied as a percentage, so a lower base rate at a destination charger, combined with the salary sacrifice reduction, produces the lowest possible effective cost per kWh.
Key Takeaways
Rapid chargers cost more per kWh than slower destination chargers
Destination chargers at supermarkets and workplaces add range at lower rates
Match charger type to available time - speed isn't always necessary
Salary sacrifice savings apply to all charging; lower base rates compound the benefit
Tip #5: Tyre Maintenance & Aerodynamics
Electric car maintenance is often discussed in terms of what EVs don't need - no oil changes, no exhaust servicing, less frequent brake work. But there are areas where consistent upkeep makes a direct difference to EV range optimisation, and tyre pressure is the most impactful of them.
Tyre pressure and rolling resistance
Every vehicle has a manufacturer-recommended tyre pressure, specified in PSI or bar and listed in the door jamb or owner's manual. Tyres naturally lose pressure over time, and a tyre that's even a few PSI below the recommended level creates more rolling resistance - meaning the motor has to work harder to maintain speed, and uses more energy per mile.
The fix is straightforward: check your tyre pressures monthly, or before any longer journey, using a digital pressure gauge or a petrol station air pump. It takes five minutes. Many modern EVs display real-time tyre pressure in the driver information system, which makes it easier to catch a gradual loss before it affects range.
Some manufacturers supply their EVs with low-rolling-resistance (LRR) tyres as standard. When it's time to replace tyres, specifying LRR equivalents rather than standard performance tyres is worth considering - the difference in rolling resistance can have a noticeable effect on range, particularly on longer motorway runs.
Roof racks, roof boxes, and aerodynamic drag
A roof rack or roof box that stays on the car year-round is one of the more significant sources of avoidable energy waste in an EV. At motorway speeds, aerodynamic drag increases substantially with any object sitting on the roof, and the motor compensates by drawing more power from the battery.
If your roof rack or box isn't in use (most aren't for the majority of the year), removing it between uses is a simple way to recover the range you're losing. The same principle applies to bike racks attached to the rear, though the aerodynamic impact is generally lower than that of a roof-mounted rack.
Key Takeaways
Under-inflated tyres increase rolling resistance and reduce range per charge
Check tyre pressure monthly and before longer journeys - it takes as little as five minutes
Removing unused roof racks and boxes reduces aerodynamic drag at speed
Low-rolling-resistance tyres are worth specifying when due for replacement
Start Saving More on Every Charge
These five tips are independent of each other - you can implement any one of them tomorrow and see a difference. But they compound together over time. Lower home charging rates through a time-of-use tariff, better range through driving technique and tyre maintenance, smarter charger selection on the public network, and all of it paid from your gross salary through The Charge Scheme.
If you're already on a salary sacrifice scheme for your EV and haven't yet added The Charge Scheme, that's the most straightforward next step. Speak to your HR or benefits team to check whether it's available, or find out more about adding it to your employer's benefits package!
Frequently Asked Questions About Reducing Your EV Running Costs
-
The saving depends on your income tax bracket. Basic rate taxpayers save approximately 32% on every charge. Higher-rate taxpayers save approximately 42%.
Additional rate taxpayers can save up to 50%. For a higher-rate taxpayer doing 10,000 miles a year at average public charging rates, the annual saving on charging alone is in the region of £500–£1,000.
-
No. The Charge Scheme works with any home charging setup, including a standard three-pin plug if that's what you currently use.
You charge as normal and submit a mileage reading at the end of the month. The scheme calculates your home charging costs automatically and deducts them from your gross salary.
-
Yes, in two respects. It reduces wear on your brake pads and discs, since mechanical braking is used less frequently.
And it returns energy to the battery rather than losing it as heat, which improves overall efficiency. There is no known downside to using maximum regenerative braking for most driving conditions.
-
Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers at motorway services carry higher per-kWh rates for several reasons: the hardware cost is substantially higher, the sites carry commercial land and operating costs, and the convenience premium reflects that drivers at motorway services typically have fewer alternatives.
The VAT disparity is a factor too - public charging is taxed at 20%, compared to 5% for home electricity.
-
Yes. Home charging is fully covered by The Charge Scheme alongside workplace and public charging. You charge at home as normal, submit your mileage reading at the end of the month, and the scheme calculates the cost and deducts it from your gross salary.
The salary sacrifice saving applies to your home charging in the same way as it does to public charging.
-
Low tyre pressure increases rolling resistance - the resistance the motor has to overcome to keep the car moving at speed.
The higher the rolling resistance, the more energy the motor uses per mile. Keeping tyres at the manufacturer-recommended pressure minimises rolling resistance and helps you extract the maximum range from each charge.
-
On a standard flat-rate tariff, the cost per kWh is the same regardless of when you charge. On a time-of-use or EV-specific tariff, off-peak windows - typically overnight, between around 11pm and 6am - offer the lowest available rates.
If you're on a flat-rate tariff, switching to an EV-specific time-of-use tariff is likely to produce meaningful savings, particularly if you charge regularly at home.
Last updated: 18/03/2026
Our pricing: is based on data collected from The Charge Scheme Calculator. All final pricing is inclusive of VAT. All deals are subject to credit approval and availability. All deals are subject to excess mileage and damage charges. Prices are calculated based on the following tax saving assumptions; England & Wales, 40% tax rate. The Charge Scheme is a product of The Electric Car Scheme™ – a trusted, trademarked brand dedicated to making electric driving more affordable. All rights reserved. The Electric Car Scheme is the trading style of The Electric Car Scheme Limited (company number 12646157, ICO number ZB030706, VAT number 439430195) and The Electric Car Scheme Holdings Limited (company number 13295877, ICO number ZB252629). Head office & registered address: The Shipping Building, 254 Blyth Road, Hayes, UB3 1HA. The Electric Car Scheme Limited provides services for the administration of salary sacrifice employee benefits. The Electric Car Scheme Holdings Limited is a member of the BVRLA (10608) is authorised and regulated by the FCA under FRN 968270, is an Appointed Representative of Marshall Management Services Ltd under FRN 667174, and is a credit broker and not a lender.
Copyright and Image Usage: All images used on this website are either licensed for commercial use or used with express permission from the copyright holders, in compliance with UK and EU copyright law. We are committed to respecting intellectual property rights and maintaining full compliance with applicable regulations. If you have any questions or concerns regarding image usage or copyright matters, please contact us at marketing@electriccarscheme.com and we will address them promptly.
