EV fast-charge at major supermarket leaves shopper 'gobsmacked'
As the nation gears up for the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, a motoring influencer has highlighted the cost of using the UK's public charging infrastructure. Speaking about his experience of using a fast charge point at a Tesco supermarket, TikToker @nathan_castleton said: "I've got 11 miles of range on the car. We're gonna fully charge it, hopefully using one of these fast chargers while I go and shop."
As appealing as it was to charge while he shopped, Nathan soon realised the cost. Documenting the expensive process, he said: "The problem I've got is how much this is going to cost, because I reckon this is going to cost way more than a tank of fuel, firstly, and… not give me anywhere near the range a tank of fuel would in an internal combustion engine car, especially something like a diesel."
It comes after news that anyone buying fuel next week will be given '£15 charge' warning by The AA, reports the Mirror.
The physical effort required was another surprise, with him exclaiming: "These are really, really quite heavy, I think for people who maybe don't have super strong hands and arms, these are really hard, just an FYI."
In addition to these issues, he also witnessed another issue with EV ownership: "Kind of ironically, next to me there's a guy who ran out of charge, and he's had to have the RAC come and bring him to the charger." This not only highlights how critical accessible charging points are but also how stressful running low on charge can be.
When Nathan finished charging his car, the bill appeared, with him saying: "So let's see how much 130 miles of range is going to cost us. So there we go, there's our total — it added 36.25 kilowatt hours of range… for £26.10.
"Now just for content, £26 for basically 120-130 miles of real world range, that's expensive, so if you do plan on getting an electric car, you do not want to be using public chargers."
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His experience is typical of many UK supermarkets, where fast chargers come with a premium fee — often between 50p and 70p per kilowatt-hour.
These costs add up quickly for larger battery EVs, making public fast charging an expensive fallback compared to doing it at home, which is typically around half the price.
While supermarkets are expanding EV infrastructure to support growing demand, fast charging, despite providing quick range recovery, can come at a price.
So, for many EV drivers, slower and cheaper home charging remains the most economical option. Owners must plan their charging routines carefully to avoid these "expensive" fees.
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