UK adoption of dynamic public charging pricing would not be well received by drivers if it happens, new research suggests.

More than half (54%) of people think it is a bad idea to adopt dynamic pricing for public electric car chargers

Joe Gorman, head of Europe at ChargePoint, told Auto Express recently that he thinks we’ll see dynamic pricing “within the next 12 months, for sure”.

But a poll by Startline Motor Finance found more than half of motorists (54%) say it would be a bad idea.

Almost four in 10 (39%) believe it’s fairer to have one price at all times, 19% don’t like dynamic pricing, 18% think charger companies may profiteer, and 15% won’t personally be able to charge when prices are cheapest.

However, there is some backing for the idea. In total, 26% say other services are priced depending on demand and it makes sense to do the same for chargers, 23% want to be able to charge when prices are lowest, and 8% believe it’ll bring down the overall price of charging.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “In some ways, it makes sense for electric car chargers to use Oasis-style dynamic pricing – after all, the electricity used by your home is priced at peak and off-peak rates. If you charge your car at home, you’re already using a simple demand-based pricing arrangement.

“However, our research shows that there is limited enthusiasm for applying full dynamic pricing to public chargers. Perhaps people who are accustomed to refuelling their car on the move with fixed price petrol or diesel don’t want to see a change in approach when they switch to an electric car.

“Also, the finding that almost one in five people believe the move may lead to profiteering is interesting. There is arguably already a perception that public chargers are costly to use, certainly compared to home charging, and the application of dynamic pricing could make them even more expensive.”

The research for Startline Motor Finance was carried out by APD Global Research and quizzed 303 consumers and 60 dealers.