Electric Vehicles (EVs) costs, charging and maintenance

​​​Using Electric Vehicles in Jersey

Transport is the largest contributor to Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, transport accounted for 45% of total emissions.

The transition to electric vehicles is a crucial step towards achieving Jersey’s net zero target.

Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions

In 2024, individuals and businesses who received a grant to buy an EV in Jersey were invited to complete a survey. The survey helped us understand their experience of owning and using an EV.

We received 381 responses. The survey results are referred to throughout this webpage.

Most respondents were very satisfied with using and owning an EV in Jersey. 92% of respondents ranked their experience 8 out of 10 or above.

When asked about EV driving range in Jersey 86% of respondents rated their experience as 8 out of 10 or higher.

Costs of buying an EV

Electric vehicles (EVs) have an electric motor and a battery.

EVs don’t need fossil fuels to work so they produce less greenhouse gas emissions than petrol and diesel vehicles.

An EV currently costs more to buy than the equivalent petrol or diesel car. However, running costs are lower and you can now find many second-hand EVs.

In the UK it’s estimated that you’ll recoup the additional upfront cost of buying an EV within 5 years because of to lower running costs.

Electric vehicles: costs, charging and infrastructure on GOV.UK​

We no longer provide grants to help you buy an EV. However an incentive was available until December 2024 and:

• supported the purchase of 1,178 EVs, at a maximum value of £40,000
  
• the average purchase cost of EVs was £23,120
  
• 19% of vehicle purchased were new EVs and 81% were second-hand
  

When asked about the experience of buying an EV, 79% of survey respondents described retailers as ‘helpful and knowledgeable’.

Electric Vehicle Purchase Incentive

Charging your EV

On average, EVs have a range of around 200 miles. Newer models can have a range of 300 miles. 

The time it takes to charge your EV depends on:

• car battery size and type
• speed of charging point - fast, rapid or ultra-rapid

A typical EV (60KWh) battery takes around 8 hours to charge at home from empty-to-full with a 7KW Smart Charger.

For many EVs, you can add up to 100 miles of range in around 35 minutes with a 50KW rapid charger.

An ultra-rapid 150kW point could fully charge a 60kWh EV in 24 minutes.

Charging time on GOV.UK

Home charging

You can charge your EV at home using a 3-pin plug or home EV charger. A Smart Charger from Jersey Electricity installed at home is 7.4KW.

Most private individuals who responded to our survey charge their EV at home:

• 38% charge using a dedicated EV charger
• 41% use a 3-pin plug

When charging at home people usually charge 1 to 2 times per week.

77% of survey respondents stated the cost of charging their EV was significantly lower than fuelling a petrol or diesel vehicle.

Jersey Electricity (JE) provides a fuel cost calculator that indicates how much can be saved from charging an EV.

Fuel cost calculator on JE​

In Jersey, the average cost to instal a home EV charger is £1,444 as at December 2024. 

You can apply for a £350 grant to help you buy a home EV charger. This is available for individuals and small businesses. Find more information on the Electric Vehicle Charger Incentive (EVCI).

JE also offer an Easycharge subscription service for overnight home charging. Plans start £30 per month. This is not supported by the Charger incentive

Easycharge on JE

Public charging points

Jersey has a large network of Evolve EV charging points in:

• public car parks
• supermarkets
• workplaces
• neighbourhood parking

Tariffs are set by Evolve. You’ll need to set-up an account with them to charge for the first time.

There are 3 types of charging points on the Evolve network.

Find more information and a map of public chargers on electric vehicle parking and charging points.

The survey found that of those that use public chargers 69% found them easy to access and use.

Maintenance and repairs​

EVs are usually cheaper to maintain than a petrol or diesel vehicle.

The electric motor, batteries and transmission have fewer moving parts than a petrol and diesel vehicle’s engine. This means there is less to go wrong and will therefore require less maintenance.

Typical servicing can include inspecting and replacing:

• oil and coolant
• brake pads
• tyres
• suspension

95 survey respondents stated they had a repair or service carried out on their EV. 73% of those said the service was promptly carried out at an appropriate price.

Taking your EV abroad

You can find a large network of EV charging points in the UK and France.

There are over:

• 53,600 public charge points in the UK
• 52,334 public charge points in France

Map of charging points on in the UK on zapmap

Map of charging points in France on Chargemap

List of charging stations for electric vehicles in France on Electromaps

90 of the survey respondents had taken their EV off-Island. Of those, 75 said that they had no issues doing so. Most respondents took their EV to England or France.

Less than 10 respondents said they had difficulty finding a public charger.

Environmental impacts

It’s estimated that over its lifetime, most EVs produce around 2 thirds less greenhouse emissions than the equivalent petrol car. This includes the battery production and disposal. Find more information on EV lifecycle emissions here GOV.UK​​.

EVs don’t produce any tailpipe emissions, so they also have a significant benefit on air quality.

In Jersey, our electricity is low carbon as the majority comes from nuclear power in France. Nuclear power generation is almost free of carbon emissions. Using EVs produces less emissions compared to other places such as the UK.

The environmental impacts from their tyres and brake wear will be similar to other vehicles.

Many EVs are powered by lithium and cobalt batteries, like laptops and phones. Work is being done to address the concerns on the increased demand for these minerals.

UK battery strategy on GOV.UK​

Batteries on the European Commission

EVs safety

EVs are very quiet. They can be difficult for pedestrians to hear or dangerous to certain groups such as people who are visually impaired.

All new EVs made in the UK and EU come with the Acoustic Vehicle Alert System. This makes an artificial sound when the EV is moving at lower speeds.

You should check the safety rating on European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) on European Commis​sion. This measures the safety performance of the EV.

EVs generally perform well in safety tests. They are newer cars built with the latest safety technology and vehicle design.

Research indicates that EV fires are less likely to happen than petrol or diesel fires. For example, in Norway between 2016 and 2021, proportionally, petrol or diesel vehicles were involved in 4 times more fires compared to EVs.

Planning standards for EV parking

Planning requirements have been updated to make sure all new home developments:

• can easily have an EV charge point installed in the future
• have a car parking space with a live electricity supply that is protected and terminated by an isolator

These standards apply to every car parking space in a home development. Where a home has several parking spaces EV charging infrastructure should be available for at least one space.

There are further fire safety guidelines for EV charging points in covered spaces including that developers should consider measures to manage risk:  

• the installation of a sprinkler system
  
• physical separation of spaces

Residential parking sta​​ndards​