BMW Electric Charging Costs
The cost of living with an electric BMW
One of the biggest benefits of owning an electric vehicle is that they are cheaper to run than their petrol or diesel equivalents.
However, you may question how worthwhile the savings are, especially when considering rising energy prices. Dick Lovett is here to show you that despite the initial investment of making the switch, going all-electric proves a cost efficient choice in the long-run.
The actual cost of electric vehicle charging can be a difficult figure to pin down as it depends on many different factors. These include things like your energy tariff, when and where the vehicle is being charged, what model of car you have, and also how much charge you need. But, we hope the information below can provide a better and clearer idea of the potential costs of electric BMW charging.
Energy tariffs for EV Owners
What many don’t consider when looking at the costs of living with an electric car is that there are energy tariffs available specifically for BEV (battery electric vehicle) owners. These energy tariffs offer lower ‘off-peak’ rates.
For example, Octopus Energy offers six hours of cheap, green energy from 11.30pm to 5.30am every night at a low rate of 7p per kWh on their ‘Intelligent Octopus’ tariff*. This means that while you sleep, you can leave your electric BMW on charge for a much lower price than if you were to charge it during the day.
Charging costs by model
By using the example tariff provided by Octopus Energy, we can look at how much it would cost to charge each electric BMW model from 0%-100% on an EV specific energy tariff at off-peak hours compared with the average UK household energy rate.
The table below is based on an average UK household rate of 24.5p per kWh in comparison to Intelligent Octopus’ off-peak rate of 7p per kWh*. These figures have been individually multiplied against the battery capacity of each model to create the cost to charge below.
| Avg UK household energy rate | Intelligent Octopus EV charging energy tariff | Savings | |
| BMW i3 | £6.66 | £1.90 | £4.76 |
| BMW i4 | £16.42 | £4.69 | £11.73 |
| BMW i4 eDrive 40/50 | £19.65 | £5.61 | £14.04 |
| BMW i5 | £19.89 | £5.68 | £14.21 |
| BMW i7 | £24.92 | £7.12 | £17.80 |
| BMW iX1 | £15.85 | £4.53 | £11.32 |
| BMW iX3 | £18.13 | £5.18 | £12.95 |
| BMW iX 40 - iX 50/60 | £17.40 - £26.34 | £4.97 - £7.52 | £12.43 - £18.82 |
| BMW i3 | |
| Avg UK household energy rate | £6.66 |
| Intelligent Octopus EV charging energy tariff | £1.90 |
| Savings | £4.76 |
| BMW i4 | |
| Avg UK household energy rate | £16.42 |
| Intelligent Octopus EV charging energy tariff | £4.69 |
| Savings | £11.73 |
| BMW i4 eDrive 40/50 | |
| Avg UK household energy rate | £19.65 |
| Intelligent Octopus EV charging energy tariff | £5.61 |
| Savings | £14.04 |
| BMW i5 | |
| Avg UK household energy rate | £19.89 |
| Intelligent Octopus EV charging energy tariff | £5.68 |
| Savings | £14.21 |
| BMW i7 | |
| Avg UK household energy rate | £24.92 |
| Intelligent Octopus EV charging energy tariff | £7.12 |
| Savings | £17.80 |
| BMW iX1 | |
| Avg UK household energy rate | £15.85 |
| Intelligent Octopus EV charging energy tariff | £4.53 |
| Savings | £11.32 |
| BMW iX3 | |
| Avg UK household energy rate | £18.13 |
| Intelligent Octopus EV charging energy tariff | £5.18 |
| Savings | £12.95 |
| BMW iX 40 - iX 50/60 | |
| Avg UK household energy rate | £17.40 - £26.34 |
| Intelligent Octopus EV charging energy tariff | £4.97 - £7.52 |
| Savings | £12.43 - £18.82 |
As you can see, BEV specific energy tariffs provide huge savings across the BMW range, especially in longer distance models with higher battery capacity such as the i7 where you can save over £16 per full charge.
If you are considering switching to an electric vehicle, we highly recommend researching energy tariffs which are tailored towards EV owners and feature reduced charging rates during off-peak hours.
To find out more about living with electric cars click here or contact us at Dick Lovett BMW and speak to our sales team. Our dealerships are located in Bristol, Hungerford, Melksham (Bath) and Swindon. We can also arrange test drives for a variety of our electric models. Welcome to supercharged driving from BMW.