The cost of charging your EV depends on the electricity rates of your country of residence, your electricity provider, at what time of the day you charge, and whether you charge at home or at a public charging station.
Home charging
The average price of one kilowatt-hour ranges from €0.18 in Norway to €0.29 in Germany. Therefore the price of fully charging a car differs depending on your country of residence. A solid overview of the different prices per country can be found here.
Let’s say you drive a Nissan LEAF with a battery capacity of 40 kilowatt-hours in Norway which allows you to go up to 280 km with one charge. You’ll have to estimate 40 x €0.18 = €7.2 for one full charge. This means that the price per kilometer ist just €7.2/ 280 = €0.025 for a Nissan LEAF in Norway.
If you have a charger installed at home, you can benefit from lower electricity costs by charging at off-peak hours. Via an app on your smartphone, you can communicate with your Wallbox and set the time that it should start charging your car. You should also consider that slow charging is a lot cheaper than fast charging, so charging your electric car at home where it’s parked for long hours makes much sense.
Charging at a public charging station
The costs of charging your EV at a public charging station can differ depending on the station’s owner. In general, it’s more expensive to charge your electric car at a public charging station, especially if it allows fast charging. The owner may set up charging fees, such as a start rate, a rate per minute, and/or a kWh-rate. However, many charging station owners, like hotels and supermarkets, are beginning to offer free charging while staying or parking at their facilities.
