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Myth No 06: EVs don't go far enough on a single charge and take ages to charge
From 2035, new petrol and diesel cars will no longer be sold in the UK and far more of us – for work and for leisure – will begin using electric vehicles.
However, there remains a number of common misconceptions surrounding EVs that still raise concerns. Here, the National Grid busts some of the most common EV myths.
A lot of people say the sweet spot for the range of an EV is between 200 and 300 miles. This gives the optimal balance between cost and range. Most people don’t require a range of more than this; after the time it takes to drive this distance most of us need a pit stop anyway.
Statistically in the UK, the first car in a family does around 37 miles a day on average and any second car covers around 11 miles daily. In the US, the majority of households (roughly 85%) travel under 100 miles on a typical day.
Of course, people don’t simply buy a car to make their average journeys – they also buy for the longest ones they do. What we should consider here is that, in reality, when we do embark on longer excursions, most of us already do stop for 15-20 minutes at a service station, to grab a drink, use the toilet or fill up on petrol or diesel. That would be all the time it takes to power up your EV with the new range of ultra-rapid chargers that are already available.
As far as charging is concerned, powering up your EV can take as little as 30 minutes or up to 12 hours – it all depends on the size of the battery and the speed of the charging point.
A Nissan LEAF with a 40kW battery, for example, would take around five hours to charge from empty with a 7kW home charging point. A Polestar with a 78kW battery would take around 10 hours. A rapid charger at a motorway service station, however, could charge your car to full in about 30 minutes.
The charging rate can also differ depending on the ambient temperature, the state of the battery (eg empty or half full) and the maximum charging rate of the vehicle. Similar to your mobile phone though, up to 80% of your charging will likely be at home, including while you’re sleeping.
Published On: 20/05/2025 13:00:00
