We’ve looked at the data for petrol, diesel and electric over the past 12 months, and revealed the impact on businesses which run vehicles.
Unlike the previous few years, where pandemics and war have contributed to volatile energy and fuel markets, 2024 was far calmer for businesses buying electric, petrol and diesel for vehicles.
As a result, by the end of 2024, those companies using Allstar to buy fuel and electricity could well have seen their spend reduce compared with previous years, providing help at a time when other business costs such as National Insurance were set to rise.
Our AllCosts reports tracked prices throughout the year. Here’s what happened.
Electric: charging at home
On the whole, it’s become cheaper to charge at home over the past 12 months.
At the start of 2024, the average cost of domestic electricity used in electric vehicles was 28p per kWh, but by the end of the year, the overall price had fallen to 24p (note: both prices include 5% VAT).
So what does that mean for EV running costs? According to calculations in our AllCosts reports last year, based on our data from millions of transactions, a small and medium business running 10 family-sized hatchbacks averaging 2.9 miles/kWh would have been spending around 9.7 pence per mile (PPM) per vehicle at the start of 2024 for business mileage powered by domestic electricity.
If those cars did a combined 10,000 working miles a month, the overall cost would have been £970.
By the end of the year, those PPM costs had dropped to 8.3ppm, meaning a monthly bill of £830.
For larger businesses, the savings could be even greater. A delivery fleet, in which 500 of its electric panel vans averaging 1.8 miles/kWh are able to charge at home, cwould have seen its per-mile cost drop from 15.6p at the start of 2024 to 13.3p.
If each van averaged 2,500 miles a month, the bill to charge could have dropped from £195,000 a month in early 2024 to £166,250 by the end.
Electric: charging in public
While almost all other energy sources have fallen this year, overall there’s been an increase in the cost of public charging, from 70p per kWh in early 2024 to 77p by the end.
But there is some context to consider here. Public charging is subject to 20% VAT, unlike domestic charging, which has 5% applied. So any rise in the actual per unit cost is then exponentially increased by applying 20% to it.
Also, the number of charge point operators on the Allstar network have increased this year, which means they bring their own pricing into the mix, and that can change the average per kWh price. It’s worth pointing out though that the lowest cost on the network in December 2024 was still only 28p per kWh. So it’s worth shopping around.
For business vehicles charging on the public network, it does mean costs increased through the year. A family hatchback doing 2.9 miles/kWh cost 24.1ppm at the start of the year and 26.9ppm by the end, meaning the monthly bill for 1,000 miles a month rose from £241 to £280.
For a panel van managing 1.8 miles/kWh, costs went from 38.8ppm to 43.3ppm, or £970 to £1,083 for 2,500 miles a month.
There’s the question of infrastructure, when it comes to rising costs too.
Public charging is a rapidly growing sector, with Zap Map saying there was an overall 35% growth in public charge points in 2024 to nearly 110,000 connectors nationwide.
There’s been a remarkable amount of investment in infrastructure by the charge point operators or providers, which other energy delivery methods such as fuel stations and the domestic grid aren’t subject to; and as it matures and this outlay has been recouped, it will be interesting to see what happens to the price of public charging.
Fuel: petrol and diesel
While many fleets are moving to electric, for those who still use petrol and diesel vehicles, 2024 has been a good year for fuel costs.
After reaching nearly £2 per litre at times in the first part of the decade, 2024 saw prices for both fuels fall fairly steadily.
In our first AllCosts report in January 2024, the average cost of petrol was sitting at 150.6p per litre, up very slightly from the previous quarter.
Halfway through the year, despite some fluctuations which had seen some forecourts charging up to 161p per litre, the price had dropped to an average of 143.3p, and then continued in its downwards trajectory so that in December, petrol averaged 134.8p,quite a change.
The fuel cost to a fleet, then, has been marked. A small petrol van ran at 20.2ppm at the start of the year and 19.4ppm by the end. A fleet with 50 vans doing 2,000 miles a month would have seen their fuel bill reduce from £20,200 in January to £19,400 in December.
The same trend has been seen with diesel, with prices falling from an average of 158.5p per litre to 141.7p over the 12 months, meaning a pence-per-mile drop from 17.6ppm to 16.8ppm for small panel van. That’s about half the cost of charging in public in an electric alternative, and a third more than at home. Not a great advert for switching to electric.
For those fleets not able to transition diesel commercial vehicles to electric this year, this lower price is providing welcome breathing space.
Conclusion
2024 finally saw some stability in the fuel and electricity market, but even within this the slightest change in price either up, or down, can have a significant effect on the cost of running vehicles, whether it’s just one, or thousands.
Keeping in touch with prices and trends, and buying cleverly, through Allstar, ensure your business can take advantage when prices fall, and minimise the impact when they rise.
Click here to read the latest Allstar AllCosts report.
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