Ubitricity has the largest public charging network in the UK
(Picture: Ubitricity)One of London’s largest providers of electric car charging points has put prices up by a third amid a surge in energy costs.
Beginning this week, Shell-owned Ubitricity will now charge 32p per KiloWatt hour, up from 24p. A 35p connection fee per charging session will also be introduced.
The 33% price rise means Mercedes EQS drivers will pay an extra £9.92 for a full charge. It will cost Tesla Model 3 owners an extra £4.32 to fill up and Nissan Leaf drivers will see costs rise by £3.44, based on battery capacity data from EV Database.
In a statement on its website, Ubitricity said: “We’ve avoided increasing prices for as long as possible, but we can no longer absorb all of the extra costs, so we have had to change our pricing to reflect wholesale prices.”
The price hike adds to the cost of living crisis facing Brits, with energy bills, taxes, food and public transport costs all rising rapidly.
Ubitricity has the largest public charging network in the UK, including over 5,000 charging points in London according to a map on the company website.
Shell bought the Berlin-based company last year and has pledged to roll out 50,000 charge points in the UK under the brand by 2025.
Price hikes began this week and will have reached most of the network by May, the company said.
It comes as more and more driver try to plug in. A record 39,000 new electric cars were bought in March 2022 alone, up almost 80% on the previous year.
Sales of hybrid vehicles surged to 28,000 last month, taking the market share of electrified vehicles to over a third.
The UK government has committed to providing grants of up to £1,500 for those who purchase electric cars and up to £5,000 for electric vans till March 2023.
