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17/10/2026

The public EV charging bank trap explained⚡️
Here’s why chargers hold your cash.

16/10/2026

AA EV Readiness Index 2026 · UK electric car sales September 2026 · ZEV mandate consultation · cross-pavement charging — this week on Primetime EV Live.

→ Do electric cars run out of charge? Rarely. Running out of charge caused just 1.3% of AA electric car callouts in Q3 2026, down from 8.3% in 2015 — and AA patrols fixed 88.1% of EV callouts at the roadside (petrol: 83.5%). Used EVs now cost about 1% more than comparable petrol cars.

→ Record September: 99,201 battery electric cars registered, 28.3% of the market, up 36.3% (SMMT). Year to date it's 26.2% against a 33% target — the SMMT says another 265,000 EVs are needed in Q4. Why that means discounts for buyers.

→ EXPLAINER — cross-pavement charging: how a charging gully works, the council permissions you still need, the new planning rules, and the up-to-£500 grant for households with only on-street parking. Check your council: primetimeev.com.

→ ZEV mandate review: closes 11:59pm on 23 October 2026. What it decides, and how to respond in five minutes (GOV.UK survey or [email protected]).

→ Chinese brands took 15.8% of UK new car sales in August (5.5% a year earlier), but 42% of AA members say they wouldn't consider one.

09/10/2026

Should I switch to an electric car, or keep my hybrid? Seven real drivers brought their miles, their fuel and their parking to our first Should I Switch? TikTok Live and the answer wasn't always yes. Plus: which energy supplier is best for EV drivers, hybrid vs plug-in hybrid vs EV explained, electric lorries, and the £130,000 Jaguar Type 01.

IN THIS SHOW (UK, October 2026)
• Is a hybrid cheaper to run than an EV? Only if you can't charge at home. At 10,000 miles a year a 55mpg hybrid costs about £1,450 in petrol. An EV charged at home costs about £230. On public chargers it's £1,630 to £2,380.
• The misconception: a 16,000-mile diesel commuter with a driveway saves about £2,540 a year by switching.
• Which energy supplier is best for EV drivers? Ofgem-commissioned research puts Octopus Energy top on 91% adjusted satisfaction, nine points clear. A faulty smart meter is worse than no smart meter.
• Hybrid, plug-in hybrid, range extender or electric car: what's the difference, what pay-per-mile tax means from 2028, and which suits you.
• Are electric lorries cheaper than diesel? A Hamburg fleet's four years of data — and why depot charging is the catch.
• Jaguar Type 01: from £130,000, built in the UK, deliveries in the second half of 2027.

SOURCES
Ofgem / BMG — What drives consumer satisfaction with energy suppliers? (Oct 2026)
Zapmap Charging Price Index (Sept 2026) · RAC Fuel Watch
ICCT — Real-world usage of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
RAC — pay-per-mile (eVED) explained (Jul 2026) · SMMT September 2026 registrations
electrive — Buhck electric trucks (Jun 2026) · Transport & Environment truck TCO analysis (Sep 2026)
JLR — Jaguar Type 01 press release (7 Oct 2026)

Should I Switch? is live on TikTok every Tuesday at 8pm. Bring your car, get a verdict. → tiktok.com/

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02/10/2026

Diesel just hit a UK record of 199.18p a litre. So how much cheaper is an electric car to run in the UK in 2026? On off-peak home charging, about 2.3p a mile against 21p for diesel — roughly nine times cheaper. On public rapid chargers, about 23p a mile — level with diesel.

This week on Primetime EV Live:

→ Diesel record: RAC figures put diesel at 199.18p a litre on 28 September — up 40% since February. Carbon Brief puts EV running costs at 2.3p a mile off-peak at home, 7p on the price cap, against 21p for diesel. Zapmap's August average for rapid charging works out at 23p a mile.

→ EV insurance: MoneySuperMarket's new index puts the average EV premium at £556, against £510 for petrol and £536 for diesel. The Renault 5 is the cheapest EV to insure at £418.

→ The Verdict: your comments on last week's 47.4 million MOT test study — a correction on hybrids, why the MOT doesn't test batteries, and the Hyundai Kona result nobody spotted.

→ 0% VAT at home, 20% in public: VAT on home electricity in Great Britain is zero from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Public charging stays at 20%. Plus the Budget on 28 October, and the green fuel credits (RTFO) the UK pays for hydrogen but not electricity.

→ UK batteries: £7bn committed, but confirmed factories cover 56GWh of the 115GWh a year we'll need by 2035.

SOURCES
RAC (28 Sep 2026) · Carbon Brief (24 Sep 2026) · Zapmap Charging Price Index (Aug 2026) · MoneySuperMarket Electric Car Insurance Index (1 Oct 2026) · BVRLA, How Durable are Used Electric Vehicles? (Sep 2026) · HMRC Revenue & Customs Brief 10 (2026) · Ofgem · DfT RTFO statutory review (Aug 2025) · ChargeUK · New AutoMotive, The UK's EV Battery Economy (17 Sep 2026) · Geotab · Recurrent

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25/09/2026

00:00 What does Used EV Week mean for buyers?
02:05 Are used electric cars reliable?
06:40 Can you still rapid charge an old Leaf?
10:29 How do I check a used EV's battery?
16:30 Are used EV prices about to rise?
19:00 What is the ZEV mandate consultation?
20:40 Your questions on buying used EVs

Are used electric cars reliable at high mileage? A study of 47.4 million MOT tests says yes — and the advantage grows the further they go. Among cars aged three to eight with 90,000 to 120,000 miles, 16.5% of EVs failed their MOT against 22.1% of petrol cars, making the electric ones around 25% less likely to fail. Above 120,000 miles it's 16% against 23.5%.

We cover the two things the study does not tell you: the MOT never tests battery health, and EVs record around 1.8 times the tyre defects of petrol cars.

Also in this Used EV Week special: InstaVolt has committed to keeping CHAdeMO connectors at all 900 of its sites plus 300 in development, while other networks remove theirs — which matters if you're buying an older Nissan Leaf. Then the five checks to make before buying any used EV: battery state of health, remaining warranty, connector and charging speed, tyres, and where you will actually charge it. And the market numbers: used EV demand up 150% in a year, with specialist retailers now selling cars in under 30 days.

Primetime EV Live is an independent UK EV media network. Verified first-party audience, no paid amplification, no commercial influence on rate comparison data.

CHECK YOUR COUNCIL
Cross-pavement charging, council by council: primetimeev.com

JOIN THE CLUB
Free. Charging deals, weekly story summaries, and an alert the week your council changes its position.
primetimeev.com/club · [email protected]

SOURCES
BVRLA / New AutoMotive MOT study, September 2026 (47.4 million tests)
InstaVolt CHAdeMO commitment, September 2026
Geotab battery health study, 2026 (22,700+ vehicles)
Octopus Electric Vehicles, EV Experts, Brego / Auto Trader (used market data)
DfT ZEV mandate consultation, closes 23 October 2026

12/09/2026

The Elektron Quasar Hypercar is a very fast EV.

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