UK electric vehicle drivers charging at home are more than doubling their miles compared to the same price of fossil fuels at the pumps, analysis by Zaptec has revealed.

The newly launched Zaptec Index breaks down complex, volatile energy markets into a simple public metric by tracking exactly how far a driver can travel using a fixed budget of £10 or €10 across 17 European nations.

The index is designed to give drivers a highly accurate real-world cost reflection by pitting comparable vehicles against one another.

In the UK, researchers compared a Volkswagen ID.3 using a home charger against its traditional petrol equivalent, a Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI. The electric hatchback achieved a staggering 176 miles for a £10 spend, while the petrol Golf managed just 78 miles for the same cost.

Zaptec also compared the UK to the rest of Europe and found that drivers are getting similar results and savings using the same Volkswagen ID.3 versus Golf comparison. The highest result is 178 miles (287km) in Portugal, nearly three times the petrol equivalent of 62 miles (99km) and 73 miles for diesel (118km). The lowest level is Austria, with 133 miles (214km) per £10, which is still double the petrol value of 67 miles (109km) or 76 miles (122km) for diesel, and illustrates the big savings across the continent for EV drivers.

Zaptec created the index to tackle the consumer confusion caused by highly unpredictable fuel and electricity prices, showing whether an EV really pays off.

Kurt Østrem, CEO of Zaptec, said: “People shouldn’t have to be energy analysts to know what it costs to drive a car. Fuel and electricity prices change all the time, and the debate about EVs versus petrol and diesel is too often driven by emotion rather than hard numbers. With the Zaptec Index, we’re putting the numbers openly on the table, so people can see for themselves what actually pays off.”

To ensure the comparison is verifiable and independent, the index draws price data from official sources including Eurostat, the EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, Ofgem, Statistics Norway (SSB) and other national statistics offices. Home charging prices are based on Eurostat household tariffs.

Public charging prices are drawn only from openly published tariffs at leading charging networks in each market, ensuring the index is transparent and verifiable.

For Zaptec, the Zaptec Index also reflects a broader ambition about the company’s role in Europe’s energy system.

“We’re not just selling chargers. We’re building the infrastructure Europe will run on. That means we also have to be willing to own the conversation about what it actually costs to drive a car,” Østrem added.