Public electric vehicle charging costs fleets more than three times as much as home charging, while smarter charging strategies can significantly reduce emissions and operating costs, according to Rightcharge’s 2026 Annual State of Fleet Charging Report released on Tuesday.
The UK-based EV fleet charging payment platform said its analysis of more than 1,000 megawatts of electricity delivered across tens of thousands of charging sessions in 2025 showed public charging averaged 81 pence per kilowatt-hour, compared with 25 pence per kilowatt-hour at home. Despite accounting for just 27% of charging sessions, public charging represented 57% of total fleet energy spend, the report found.
Using a blended average electricity rate of 40 pence per kilowatt-hour across all charging locations, Rightcharge said electric vehicles cost about 11 pence per mile to operate, compared with 15 pence for diesel vehicles and 17 pence for petrol. The company said this approach provides a clearer benchmark for total cost of ownership than focusing on individual high-cost public charging events.
“Transitioning to an electric fleet brings huge benefits, but optimizing your charging can help you save even more money,” said Charlie Cook, founder and chief executive of Rightcharge. “We’ve published this report to give fleet managers the benchmarks that they need to see the true value of electric vehicles.”
The report said shifting charging to off-peak periods could reduce charging-related emissions by up to one-third, as electricity generation during these hours is typically cleaner. While 77% of home charging sessions already take place off-peak, only 43% of public charging does so. Fleets that move more charging to homes and adopt dedicated EV tariffs priced at 6–7 pence per kilowatt-hour could save as much as £1,300 per driver annually, it added.
Rightcharge also reported that 46% of the energy delivered to fleets on its platform in 2025 came from renewable sources, highlighting what it described as a growing alignment between cost efficiency and decarbonisation for electric vehicle fleets.