By John Rainford, UK Country Manager, JOLT
Britain’s electric vehicle revolution is dividing drivers into two groups: those who can charge at home for pennies, and those forced to pay up to ten times more at public charging stations. Government targets require 28% of new car sales to be electric this year, supporting the wider plan to end sales of petrol and diesel-only vehicles by 2030. Yet over a third of UK households live in flats or terraced homes, where home charging simply isn’t an option.
In densely populated areas, the challenge is even more acute. Many urban households lack off-street parking altogether—making it impossible to install a home charger. In some parts of London, as many as 90% of homes have no access to private parking.
This disparity isn’t just inconvenient—it’s costly. Drivers without home charging face an average £1,500-a-year premium just to run the same vehicles. Many of these households are in less affluent areas without off-street parking, where residents are also more likely to be exposed to higher levels of air pollution. For many, that’s the price of going green — and unless addressed, it risks undermining the UK’s transition to cleaner transport.
The financial case for going electric is strong. More than 80% of drivers in the UK could save by going electric today. Drivers with off-street parking and access to affordable home charging stand to save the most, with the average EV owner gaining£5,850 over the lifetime of their car—even after factoring in purchase price, maintenance, taxes, and depreciation. Even without off-street parking, drivers can still cut costs in some cases, for example by using public chargers offering a free daily allowance.
However, those savings vary significantly depending on where and how a driver charges. In June 2025, topping up an EV at home costs around £180 a year. By contrast, using public chargers can be far more expensive: slow chargers cost between £2,680 and £3,620 annually, fast chargers £3,370 to £5,430, and rapid or ultra-rapid chargers £2,810 to £5,430, depending on peak times.
Some public charging models — such as those offering a free daily allowance — can reduce that cost to zero for typical drivers, effectively matching the economics of home charging and removing the premium faced by households without driveways.
However, these potential savings are not yet accessible to all drivers. Millions of households without the ability to charge affordably at home or access public charging models that offer a free daily allowance remain excluded from the financial benefits of electric vehicles, creating a clear gap that government investment now aims to address.
But for new infrastructure to deliver on its promise, price matters as much as availability; councils can install hundreds of charge points, yet if tariffs remain high, uptake of EVs in those areas will remain slow.
Why Government funding alone isn’t working
Recognising the barriers to broader electric vehicle adoption, the government has committed a £633 million package aimed at improving charging access for those currently excluded from affordable options. This includes £25 million allocated to local authorities to develop at-home charging solutions tailored to households without driveways, enabling more drivers to access cheaper domestic electricity tariffs.
Yet funding does not guarantee uptake. Councils can install hundreds of charge points, but if the tariffs remain uncompetitive, drivers will simply avoid using them. The result is well-intentioned infrastructure standing idle, doing little to accelerate EV adoption in the very communities it is meant to support.
Alongside infrastructure investment, the £650 million Electric Car Grant (ECG) addresses the upfront cost hurdle by providing financial support on qualifying electric vehicles. These initiatives aim to work in tandem to tackle both running costs and purchase prices, helping to make EV ownership more accessible ahead of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
However, the complexity and restrictions of the ECG have left many popular EVs excluded, prompting manufacturers to introduce their own discounts to bridge the affordability gap. The grant offers up to £3,750 off new EVs under £37,000, but eligibility depends on manufacturers’ sustainability credentials and where vehicles are built. While some brands like Vauxhall have achieved full range qualification, many others remain excluded.
Recognising these eligibility constraints, manufacturers have launched their own discount wars. Volkswagen Group’s £1,500 ‘Grant Guarantee’ across Volkswagen, Skoda, and Cupra models for August orders sidesteps government approval delays.
Other carmakers have followed with similar schemes, cutting prices by up to £3,750 to remain competitive—some strategically repricing entry models to squeeze under the £37,000 threshold and bring entire lineups into eligibility. The result? A policy landscape where car manufacturers are subsidising EV adoption because official schemes can’t deliver at scale or speed.
The urban charging shortfall
But the key challenge remains – making savings accessible to all. Much of the UK’s EV charging conversation centres on home chargers or rapid motorway networks. Yet the real challenge — and opportunity — lies in the urban charging gap: the urban and suburban areas where most people live, work, and socialise.
These communities face a growing infrastructure gap, with limited parking options and shared streets making affordable home charging either difficult or impossible. Consequently, millions of households miss out on the benefits of cheaper domestic electricity, creating a significant barrier to EV ownership that slows adoption precisely where it could have the greatest impact.
Bridging the gap isn’t about quantity alone. What matters is deploying the right infrastructure in the right locations — and at a price drivers can afford. While the UK is expanding its public charging network, with one new charger reportedly added every 30 minutes, this pace alone is insufficient to close the affordability and accessibility gap faced by many urban drivers.
Innovative, scalable solutions that improve access to affordable EV charging for all drivers are essential—public funding alone is not enough. Tackling this inequality is essential to fulfilling the UK’s ambition for a fair and successful EV transition.
Plugging the gap
JOLT’s advertising-funded model is already demonstrating how this works in practice. Representing just 4% of charging points in the London Borough of Barnet, JOLT delivers 65% of all public charging energy. Drivers are consistently choosing its fastest, most affordable option over nearby alternatives — showing that without the right price point, publicly funded chargers can go unused, limiting their impact on EV adoption.
Crucially, JOLT’s approach is fully funded at zero cost to councilswhile generating revenue from day one, offering free daily charging with no grant funding required. Innovative, advertising-funded networks provide a practical charging alternative for those without private parking, helping to bridge the infrastructure gap and support the UK’s green transition.
Solutions like JOLT’s are closing the gap between what drivers who can charge at home pay and the costs faced by those who rely on public charging, transforming Britain’s two-tier EV system into one that works for everyone – leaving no driver behind – regardless of where they live.
Bio: John Rainford, UK Country Manager
With over 10 years of direct experience in the electric vehicle charging industry alone, John played a pivotal role in the early roll out of the electric mobility charging infrastructure in the UK. Stemming from his engineering and energy background is an in-depth, end-to-end knowledge and experience of infrastructure development – from strategy and planning, to delivery, operations and network management.
John joined JOLT in 2021, when he brought together local authority stakeholders and commercial partners to help establish and expand JOLT’s network across the UK. Since then, he has led multiple partnerships with key London boroughs.
John believes in putting customers at the heart of innovation. Working in close partnership with Ofgem in the UK, John is committed to integrating the customer perspective into all aspects of JOLT’s presence and growth in the UK.
