Controversial dynamic pricing has been suggested for motorists to spread use and demand for power.
Drivers would recharge at a lower cost when demand was light and pay more to boost when public points were busy.
But more than half of motorists (54%) say it would be a bad idea to adopt dynamic pricing for public electric car chargers. Domestic charge points can already be used “off-peak” at night and vehicles recharged very cheaply compared to daytime.
Startline’s November Used Car Tracker asked motorists how they felt about paying to recharge an electric car and 39% believe it’s fairer to have one price at all times, 19% don’t like dynamic pricing, 18% think charger companies may profiteer, and 15% won’t personally be able to charge when prices are cheapest.
However, there is some backing for the idea. In total, 26% say other services are priced depending on demand and it makes sense to do the same for chargers, 23% want to be able to charge when prices are lowest, and 8% believe it’ll bring down the overall price of charging.
The survey was carried out after a major chargepoint provider said it expected full demand-based pricing to be adopted for at least some public chargers during the next year, with costs changing on a dynamic basis.
Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said, “In some ways, it makes sense for electric car chargers to use Oasis-style dynamic pricing – after all, the electricity used by your home is priced at peak and off-peak rates. If you charge your car at home, you’re already using a simple demand-based pricing arrangement.
“However, our research shows that there is limited enthusiasm for applying full dynamic pricing to public chargers. Perhaps people who are accustomed to refuelling their car on the move with fixed price petrol or diesel don’t want to see a change in approach when they switch to an electric car.
“Also, the finding that almost one in five people believe the move may lead to profiteering is interesting. There is arguably already a perception that public chargers are costly to use, certainly compared to home charging, and the application of dynamic pricing could make them even more expensive.”
