Electric Vehicles

EV's are a category of ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV). ULEVs are any car or van that emits 75 grams or less of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) per kilometre driven. ULEVs are electrically powered vehicles that come in one of three main types:

100% Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV)

Large battery packs power BEVs, which produce zero harmful emissions or CO2. BEV’s typically offer between 100 and 250 miles of range, which is practical for most people’s day-to-day journeys. Owners can charge at home or use any public charging points.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)

PHEVs pair a smaller battery and electric motor with a petrol or diesel engine. Depending on the model, the battery provides 20 to 40 miles of electric, zero-emission driving for short trips. For longer journeys, the petrol or diesel engine provides hundreds of extra miles. These vehicles will need to be charged in the same way as a BEV to make use of their electric mode.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (HFCEV)

To power an HFCEV, hydrogen and oxygen are fused together in a specialised "fuel cell". This chemical reaction generates the electric charge which drives the motors. The only exhaust emission is water. You don't need to plug in an HFCEV to re-charge it, unlike BEVs and PHEVs. You will need to refill them with supercooled liquid hydrogen at special fuelling stations and there are currently only a few models available to purchase.

You can find more information on the Go Ultra Low website.

Lower running costs

Birmingham Clean Air Zone

The Birmingham Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will come into force in June 2021 and cover all roads inside the A4540 Middleway ring road. The most polluting vehicles must pay a charge if they wish to drive in the zone. All BEVs and most PHEVs are compliant and will avoid CAZ charges.

You can check if you will be charged using the Vehicle Checker here. 

Cheaper fuel costs

Charging an electric vehicle is much cheaper than fuelling a petrol and diesel vehicle. Costs are typically 3 to 4p per mile when charged at home on a standard electricity tariff, compared to around 12p per mile for petrol or diesel. This cost can be reduced further by selecting an electricity tariff tailored for EV drivers.
For more information, go to the Go Ultra Low website.

Tax benefits

Pure battery electric vehicles are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED or road tax) whilst Plug in hybrid vehicles pay a reduced VED. This can result in significant savings for drivers of BEVs.

Further information can be found here. 

Cheaper to maintain

BEVs have fewer moving parts to maintain, so are less labour intensive, as shown by the lower costs of servicing. Fully electric vehicles rely on digital diagnostics and updates rather than parts replacement and warranties are available to cover battery life. Hybrid and Hydrogen vehicles are more comparable to petrol and diesel vehicles.

More environmentally friendly

Reduced carbon emissions

BEVs have no exhaust pipe emissions. EV’s charged using “average UK mains electricity” are responsible for roughly 40% less CO2 than a small petrol car and 25% less than a diesel, from its use of fuel. This figure increases further for EV's charged using a green tariff. As the UK grid is decarbonised, CO2 savings for EV’s will continue to improve. This will help to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Learn more about climate change on our dedicated webpage

Visit our climate change web page

Air quality and noise improvements

Each year, air pollution contributes to around 40,000 early deaths in the UK. Road vehicles are a major source of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulates which have a potentially harmful effect on health. Fully electric vehicles produce zero exhaust pipe emissions which will improve local air quality and in turn benefit public health.
BEVs and PHEVs driving on electric mode, have no internal engine noise whilst driving. This creates a much more pleasant experience for drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

Convenient and easy home charging

If you have access to your own driveway, you can install a dedicated home charge point and charge an electric vehicle overnight, so that it is ready when you leave home in the morning. This would use your home electricity tariff. You would also avoid queueing at busy service stations. The cost of domestic electricity means that people can charge the car for cheaper than filling up at the petrol station.

Use the Go Ultra Low Home Charging Tool to calculate the cost of charging an EV at home.
 

Upfront costs

Most electric vehicles on the market have a larger price tag than a petrol or diesel counterpart. This is due to the cost of the battery. Over recent years, battery production costs have fallen. It’s anticipated by 2023 the cost of electric vehicles will be comparable to the cost of petrol or diesels.

Range capabilities

Electric vehicles have a much shorter driving range than petrol and diesel vehicles. This means they need more frequent refuelling. But as technology has improved, the range of EV’s has also improved. You can expect a range of between 100 and 300 miles depending on the vehicle. Most new models offer 200 miles or more on a single charge.

Existing infrastructure 

The electric vehicle market is still in its infancy, so public charging infrastructure is currently limited. The infrastructure needed for electric vehicles is growing. The motorway network is well equipped, with charging stations for long distance journeys. We have recently installed 14 rapid charging hubs in the City centre. There are plans for more across the city to meet demand.

For available charging points in your area, see Zap Map.

Second-hand market

As the second-hand market isn’t well established there aren’t many vehicles available. Demand remains high, which means that even second-hand vehicles can be too expensive. The expectation is that this will change as the first-hand EV market picks up. 
 

You recharge BEVs and PHEVs by plugging into an electricity supply. This could include your domestic electricity supply. There are several different types of chargepoints which vary in how fast they will charge an EV. Their power is stated in kilowatts (kW).  

Slow

3kW trickle charging which is equal to plugging into your mains socket at Home. If your vehicle has 60 kWh battery, it will take approximately 20 hours to charge your vehicle.

Fast up to 7 kW

You can have a charging point installed at home without upgrading the electricity supply. This would charge a flat 60kWh battery within 9 hours. Perfect for overnight charging at home. Charging points with this power rating are also often located in long stay car parks and workplaces.

Fast up to 22-kW

Offering faster speeds, you can still install one of these at home. You would need an upgrade to your electricity supply. This can be quite costly. These chargers are more typical of short stay car parking for work and commercial places. A 22-kW charger would charge a flat 60kWh battery in around 3 hours.

Rapid chargers – up to 50 kW

Offering much quicker charging times, these chargers are usually placed in strategic locations. This includes motorway service stations and short stays car parks in town centres. This helps to accommodate electric taxis, commercial vehicles and quick trips. You could charge a 60kWh battery from 0 to 80% in under 40 minutes, full charges would take approximately 1.5 hours.

Ultra-rapid chargers – 100kW to 300 kW

These offer the quickest charge times but few vehicles can accept this much power. Eventually, all vehicles will be compatible with this method of charging. They are usually placed at service stations or dedicated charging hubs to provide recharging for longer journeys. You are able to charge to 80% within 15 minutes.

The cost is quoted in pence per kilowatt-hour (p/kWh) of electricity. We will often talk of the size of electric vehicle batteries in terms of kWh too.

How much it costs to charge your electric vehicle can depend on several different things.

The size of the battery

Modern EV battery packs range from 20 kWh to 100 kWh. The higher the battery capacity the more energy required to be fully charged.

The type of charging point you use

There are several types of charging point providing different charging speeds. These range from 3 kW to 150 kW. See the question "What are the different charging stations and charging speeds?" for more information.

The cost of using commercial chargepoints will always be more per kWh than you pay at home. This is to recover the costs of installing and maintaining infrastructure and paying staff. Some rapid charging points charge a flat connection fee (e.g. £1.00) on top of a higher electricity tariff. The table below outlines approximate charging costs for different types.

*Often with flat rate connection fees of £0.50 - £1.00

How long you charge for

This will depend on how much your battery is charged and what charge you need for ongoing trips.

Charging for 3 hours at 22 kWh will provide 66 kWh of energy to the battery. Compare this to 1 hour at 22kWh providing 22 kWh of power.

To work out the cost of charging, multiply the cost of electricity by the power rating of your battery.

For example, imagine the following:

• your car's battery is flat

• the battery has a size of 60 kWh

• you charge at home on your domestic energy supply costing around 14p/kWh

• a 60kWh electric vehicle has a real-world range of around 200 miles.

So:

1. 14p x 60kWh = 840p/kWh or £8.40 to charge

2. £8.40 / 200miles = 0.04 or 4p per mile


A petrol or diesel vehicle driving at 45 miles per gallon, at a cost of £1.20 per litre, would cost in the region of 12p per mile.

Visit the Go Ultra Low website to estimate home charging costs. 

Whether an electric vehicle is right for you depends on your circumstances. For example:

• how many miles do you drive each day?

• how much you spend on your existing vehicle?

• what are your financial circumstances?

If you wish to see if an electric vehicle would be right for you, you can use:

1. Journey cost calculator at:
   • https://www.goultralow.com/journey-cost-savings-calculator/
   • https://www.nextgreencar.com/tools/fuel-cost-calculator/
2. Car comparison tool at:
   • https://www.nextgreencar.com/tools/comparison/
   • https://www.goultralow.com/car-selector/
3. You can also see the locations of all charge points available to the public at:
   • https://www.zap-map.com/

The government has several grants and incentives available for domestic and commercial cases. This is to encourage the early adoption of electric vehicles. The links below will take you to gov.uk website for more information on what is available.

Plug-in vehicle grant scheme.

Yes, you can get a charge point installed at your home by a verified installer, if you have a drive. If you are buying a new electric vehicle, the manufacturer or dealership may install a ChargePoint for you.

If this isn’t the case you can take advantage of the governments home charging grant scheme.

We recognise that a proportion of households do not have their own driveway. This could prevent them from charging their vehicle at home, deterring them for choosing an electric.

There are several solutions to this problem, but each solution may change from area to area.

The council has a commitment to helping all Wolverhampton residents charge electric vehicles. If you already own, or are considering owning, an electric vehicle (EV), you can let us know if you need a charge point so we can map local demand. This will allow us to target infrastructure to locations that need it.

Completing this form will not guarantee we will install a charge point at your suggested location. We will map your suggestion against the existing charge point network and usage to identify priority areas.

Suggest a charge point location