Compare what a year's driving costs and emits in a petrol, diesel, hybrid and fully electric car of the same size. The prices start at this week's UK averages and HMRC's charging figures; change any of them to match your own fleet.
Compare a year's driving
Prices and efficiency (change them to match your cars)
This week's UK average
This week's UK average
HMRC home charging figure; public chargers average 54.00p
Fuel or charging cost a year
CO2e a year
Over 12,000 miles, the electric car costs £1,407 less to run than petrol and emits 2.87 tonnes CO2e less.
CO2e uses the 2026 government factors for a medium car by fuel, per mile, with the electric car's charging electricity at the UK grid average. Excludes well-to-tank, grid losses and making the car. Costs exclude servicing, tax and depreciation.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: DESNZ, greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors and Weekly road fuel prices; HMRC, Advisory fuel rates (mean MPG and electric car figures).
CO2e per mile by car size and fuel, 2026
| Car | Petrol | Diesel | Hybrid | Plug-in hybrid | Battery electric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small car | 0.229 | 0.231 | 0.183 | 0.077 | 0.040 |
| Medium car | 0.280 | 0.277 | 0.188 | 0.129 | 0.041 |
| Large car | 0.428 | 0.336 | 0.255 | 0.174 | 0.045 |
| Average car | 0.260 | 0.278 | 0.209 | 0.158 | 0.043 |
kg CO2e per mile from the government conversion factors: tailpipe for fuel, and the charging electricity at the UK grid average for plug-in cars.
Worked example
A sales team drives 12,000 miles a year in each of five medium cars. As petrol cars that's £11,125 of fuel and 16.8 tonnes CO2e. Switched to electric and charged at home, it's £4,090 and 2.5 tonnes, which a Carbon Reduction Plan can show as a measured saving.
How Carbon Recycling helps
Carbon Recycling records each car's mileage or fuel with its size and fuel type, so your footprint shows exactly what each switch to electric saves. Your Carbon Reduction Plan lists those switches as actions with dates and tonnes, which is what public sector buyers look for.
Data sources and licences
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DESNZ, greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DESNZ, Weekly road fuel prices.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: HMRC, Advisory fuel rates (mean miles per gallon and electric car figures).
The hybrid's fuel economy is the petrol car's, scaled by the ratio of DESNZ's per-mile figures for the two. DESNZ and HMRC do not endorse us.
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