Electric vehicle drivers struggle to find best tariff deals, charity finds
Consumers aren't receiving clear enough information to work out the best tariff for their electric vehicles, a charity has found.
New research from Citizens Advice, which assists the public with money, legal and consumer issues, said there was also a wide variation in the price of tariffs available and that non-recipients of a charge point grant weren't able to "fully access" the benefits of EV tariffs.
The charity also found that offers such as discounts on home chargers, free installation of chargers and discounts for public chargers made it difficult for consumers to determine the actual cost of a particular tariff.
Read more: Tesco and Volkswagen team up to install electric car charging points at 600 supermarkets
Chief executive of Citizens Advice Gillian Guy said: “The EV tariff market is expanding rapidly and it is crucial that consumers can make informed choices.
“It’s important to have genuine choice between competing tariffs. That means there needs to be transparency of costs and that suppliers properly support this growing group of consumers.”
EV drivers are also less able to compare the price of tariffs because they rarely feature on existing price comparison websites, the report said.
To remedy the problems Citizens Advice has suggested that EV drivers are able to access tools to estimate bills accurately and that comparison websites should feature a dedicated section for the EV market.
A number of big players have moved into the boom market of electric vehicles. At the end of last year outsourcer Mitie announced it would introduce electric vehicles into its fleet of cars and vans.
The facilities management and professional services company said one-fifth of its 3,587 so-called smaller vehicles would be electric by the end of 2020, a total of 717 vehicles.
Mitie said it would install more than 800 charging points at its offices across the UK and at “suitable” home addresses of its drivers.