Make charging fit your week

CathayEV buyer decision

No home charger? Make the charging week work first.

For: UK buyers using workplace or public charging for 150 miles a week.

Start with a regular charging stop that fits your parking and useful time, plus a usable backup. Once that routine works, compare the cars and their written quotes.

What could change the advice?

Free workplace charging can reduce your usual bill, but check eligibility, opening hours and what happens when it is busy or unavailable. Budget for a whole week on a usable public backup, including detours. A published range difference alone does not establish which car fits your week.

At 150 miles a week and an assumed 3.5 grid mi/kWh including charging losses, you buy 42.86 kWh. A fully public backup week costs £25.29 at 59p/kWh or £36.43 at 85p/kWh. These are energy-only calculations, not a vehicle test or a promise of availability. Parking and idle charges have not been verified for the site below: check them rather than assuming £0. Finance, insurance and servicing are extra. The film's 50p and 85p examples remain illustrative.

Local example, checked 8 October 2026: GRIDSERVE Braintree Electric Forecourt, Edison Way, CM77 7AP, lists charging access 24/7. Standalone Type 2 AC is 59p/kWh; the site lists DC at 85p/kWh. AC sockets on Medium Power DC units use the DC tariff. A longer stay must fit your car's AC capability and your available time; the charger's maximum power does not predict your session time. Check the current connector price, availability, parking rules and facilities before travelling. Load the AC example, or the film's 85p example for the DC energy budget, then drag the mileage to fit your week. Choose Compare with my fuel bill to compare petrol or diesel fuel spending for that same weekly mileage; the default comparison uses a petrol reference.

Example calculations checked 2026-10-08. CathayEV: no home charging · Energy Saving Trust: charging electric vehicles · GRIDSERVE: Braintree site and access · GRIDSERVE: tariffs and connector conditions

No home charger? Compare your charging week

Choosing between the UK MY26 MG4 EV Premium Long Range and Leapmotor B05? Start with a regular charging stop that fits your parking, price and useful time, then check a backup. Our China EV expertise means matching the UK version before using a specification from another market.

Watch on YouTube · Original analysis by CathayEV; vehicle footage from MG Motor UK and Leapmotor / Stellantis Media UK.

Try the film's example with your own prices

150 miles a week at an illustrative 3.5 mi/kWh, including charging losses, means 42.86 kWh bought each week. At 50p/kWh that costs £21.43 a week; at 85p/kWh it costs £36.43. The difference is £15 a week, or £780 over 52 weeks. Both scenarios use the same assumptions for either car; these are sample prices and efficiency, not live tariffs or measured vehicle results.

Load either film example above to see its result immediately: 7,800 annual miles, public charging only and 3.5 mi/kWh. The 50p and 85p/kWh examples cost £1,114.29 and £1,894.29 a year. Drag the mileage or expand Adjust prices and efficiency to make it your week. No additional charging loss is added.

A longer parking stay can suit AC charging; a shorter stop may suit DC. Include queues and detours in your time budget. MG's quoted 10 to 80% in 25 minutes and B05's 30 to 80% in 17 minutes cover different windows, so they do not establish a charging winner. Read the complete UK MG4 EV vs B05 buyer comparison alongside your own charging plan.

Checked 6 October 2026. Source: MG Motor UK: MY26 MG4 EV · Updated 6 October 2026 Source: Leapmotor B05 UK press information · Updated 6 October 2026 Source: Energy Saving Trust: charging electric vehicles · Updated 6 October 2026

How this is worked out

Electric miles ÷ mi/kWh gives electric energy. Its price is weighted by your home/public charging mix. Non-electric miles ÷ imperial mpg × 4.54609 gives petrol litres. Prices in pence are divided by 100 to calculate pounds.

Use estimated mpg for non-electric driving, rather than a PHEV's weighted WLTP figure. No additional charging loss is modelled; use an efficiency figure that includes it if that is the basis of your estimate.

UK imperial gallon: 4.54609 litres. Official figure Source: Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1 · Updated 2 October 2026

Home charging vs public charging: a worked example

For an EV covering 10,000 miles a year at 4 mi/kWh, energy use is 2,500 kWh. At an illustrative home price of 20p/kWh, that costs £500 a year, £41.67 a month or £5 per 100 miles. At 60p/kWh on public chargers, the same driving costs £1,500 a year, £125 a month or £15 per 100 miles.

A PHEV example: 12,000 annual miles, 60% driven electrically at 4 mi/kWh, with 75% home charging at 20p/kWh and 25% public charging at 60p/kWh. Electricity costs £540 a year. The other 4,800 miles at 40 imperial mpg and petrol at 150p/litre cost £818.30, making total energy spending £1,358.30 a year or £113.19 a month.

These prices and efficiencies are examples, checked 6 October 2026. Replace them with your tariff, charger prices and expected efficiency. Finance, insurance, tax, servicing and depreciation are outside this energy calculation.

Make the estimate fit your driving

How much will charging an EV cost?

Cost depends on energy used and the price per kWh. This tool estimates spending over your driving mileage; it does not calculate a single charging session or charging time.

How do you compare a PHEV with petrol driving?

Choose Plug-in hybrid to start with 60% electric driving and 40 imperial mpg for petrol driving. These are planning assumptions, not vehicle test results. Expand Adjust prices and efficiency to change them; if you rarely charge, try a lower electric share.

For payments on the car, use the monthly finance calculator. For a car through work, use the salary-sacrifice tax calculator.