Driver behaviour has become the single biggest factor dictating a fleet’s operational EV costs, new data from Rightcharge reveals. The findings come from the fleet EV payment specialist’s
Driver behaviour has become the single biggest factor dictating a fleet’s operational EV costs, new data from Rightcharge reveals.
The findings come from the fleet EV payment specialist’s new report on The state of fleet charging report: H1 2026, based on over 1.5 million kWh of energy consumed by fleets on the Rightcharge platform between January and June 2026.
Home charging held its place as the cheapest way to charge an EV, averaging 23.8p/kWh, down from 24.5p/kWh across 2025. Public charging averaged 80.9p/kWh, also down from 81.5p/kWh in 2025.
The blended unit rate for fleet charging increased anyway, from 40.5p/kWh to 46.9p/kWh, because more charging moved to the public network. Its share of the energy fleets consumed grew from 28% to 41%. That 41% of energy consumption on the road, now makes up for 70% of total fleet charging spend.
The price gap between home and public charging is substantial. On average, public charging costs 3.5x more than home sessions. While a driver on an EV tariff might pay 6p/kWh, those using the busiest rapid chargers on the road can face rates of 91.5p/kWh, an increase of roughly 15x.
Rightcharge pointead out that the charging bill lands with the fleet while the decision sits with the driver. But not every driver has the choice. Whether someone can charge at home often comes down to where they live and whether they have a driveway and no fleet policy will change that. Others rely on public networks for valid reasons, such as mid-shift top-ups to maintain their daily needed range, though some use public chargers when it isn’t needed
Those choices often belong to the operational driver while none of the cost does. Which operator, which charger, whether to top up on the road at all: often the driver decides and the fleet pays. To steer these decisions, fleets can educate drivers before rollout, provide visibility of individual charging costs and encourage the use of more affordable or slower chargers when time allows.
Across the busiest charge point operators on Rightcharge’s standard network, the cost of charging on the rapid network ranged from 55p/kWh to 91.5p/kWh in H1 2026. For a 30 kWh session, that is the difference between £16.50 and £27.45 for identical energy.
Charging speed carries a premium that is wider in practice than on paper. Rapid chargers at 50kW and above advertise 68.9p/kWh against 49.3p/kWh for chargers at 22kW and below.
Weighted by the sessions drivers actually ran, DC charging cost 82.6p/kWh and AC charging cost 68.5p/kWh, close to the advertised rate for rapid charging. High-speed charging is essential for drivers needing to stay on the road, but costs increase when it becomes the default for vehicles parked for long periods.
Rightcharge’s Gold Card bolt-on, launched earlier this year offers fleets fixed rates on public networks. 49p/kWh for fast charging and 59p/kWh for rapid and ultra-rapid sessions. This applies across four partner networks, including Sainsbury’s Smart Charge, Ionity, BP Pulse and Be.EV. Four additional charging networks are joining the Gold Card in September to offer fixed rates.
The energy behind fleet charging got cleaner. Renewables made up close to half the energy fleets consumed, with wind the single largest source at more than a third of the mix. While three-quarters of sessions occurred during periods of low-to-moderate carbon intensity, around a quarter still happen when the grid is at its dirtiest.
Freddie Winterbotham, head of strategic partnerships said: “The savings from electrification are real, but they’re the reward for managing charging well, not something that happens automatically. They slip away when nobody is watching the numbers. Win buy-in and the cheaper charging choice starts to look like the easier one.”
The full Rightcharge report is available here.
