Diesel costs keep climbing
Filling a typical 55-litre family car now sets drivers back around £110 when diesel reaches £2 a litre. That works out at roughly 16.5p per mile. By comparison, a long-range EV with a 109 kWh battery can be charged for as little as £8 on a smart EV tariff, bringing the cost down to about 2p per mile — nine times cheaper.
Octopus EV’s Q3 top five
Four of the five best-sellers from Q2 are still in the top five, yet every model has changed position. The OMODA E5 has climbed from fourth to first, followed by the JAECOO E5 and Leapmotor B10. The Tesla Model Y drops to fourth while the MG4 Urban enters at fifth. European makers such as Citroën, Vauxhall and Renault are also gaining ground just outside the top ten.
What the shift means for drivers
New registrations hit 100,000 in September, up 37 % year on year, and Octopus Electric Vehicles grew three times faster than the overall market. Alvin Castillo, Procurement Director at Octopus Electric Vehicles, said:
“Diesel is getting more expensive while electric cars are becoming more competitive. Chinese brands are shaking up the market, but Europe is fighting back with exciting new models like the Renault 5. That's great news for drivers, with more choice, better value and innovation coming from every direction.
Drivers are shopping across a much wider range of manufacturers than they were even a couple of years ago. Established household names are competing with brands that are relatively new to the UK, and that competition is pushing everyone to deliver better technology, more equipment and better value.
That’s ultimately brilliant news for drivers. While the cost of sticking with diesel keeps climbing, the choice available to people considering an EV keeps getting better.”
We track these moves on our energy comparison pages so you can see how the latest tariffs line up with real-world running costs.
