This is how much it costs to charge an electric vehicle

Owning an electric vehicle (EV) is all well and good but how much does it actually cost to charge one at home? And how do these figures stack up to a comparable vehicle running on fossil fuels? Well Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) South Africa provided us with some rather interesting figures based on its game-changing I-Pace: an all-electric SUV that impressed the entire TimesLIVE Motoring team when we had an opportunity to drive one last year.  

So then, how much does it cost to fill the I-Pace's “tank?”

Though electricity costs vary depending on which part of SA you find yourself in, JLR reckons that an average of R2 per kW/h is a good rule of thumb to follow when it comes to crunching these numbers. At this rate a full charge from zero to full in an I-Pace fitted with a 90kW/h lithium-ion battery pack as standard, would cost about R180.

Using these figures, the costs of driving an I-Pace work out to roughly 38 cents per kilometre when charged at home. A V6 diesel-powered vehicle on the other hand, which is of comparable size and power output, works out to about 68 cents per kilometre, using the current inland diesel price of R11.40 and its claimed combined average fuel consumption of 6.0l/100km.

For reference, the most economical car at the recent WesBank Fuel Economy Tour 2019 returned a winning average diesel consumption of 4.7l/100km - meaning a driving cost of about 54c/km.  

In terms of how long it takes to “refuel” an I-Pace, JLR says its 7.4kW wall box charger (now included free with the purchase of every new I-Pace) will charge from zero to 100% in about 12 hours. Though, as with smartphones and laptops, it's better to keep an I-Pace topped up than to let it run down completely. This not only reduces charge times but also ensures that you have access to maximum range and performance every time you set off.