Driving Down Costs: How We Can Make EVs Accessible for All

10 September 2026

Eloise Sacares

Eloise Sacares joined T&E UK in October 2025 as Vehicles Policy Senior Researcher. Previously she worked as a senior researcher at the Fabian Society, a left-wing think tank, where she led their environmental policy programme alongside working on social security and employment rights.

The US-Iran conflict has highlighted how the UK’s continued reliance on imported petrol and diesel for transport directly impacts consumers' pockets. Petrol cars are four times more affected by the energy crisis than EVs, while diesel cars are 9 times as impacted. [1] This has been directly felt at the pump: On average, UK drivers are now paying £109 to fill up a petrol car, versus £59 to charge an EV. [2]

This exacerbates existing inequalities. The higher costs of petrol and diesel typically fall on lower-income households, who are less likely to have already made the switch to electric. [3] The bottom 40% of earners spend under £100 a month on motoring purchases or leases, but the cheapest EV lease is £141, creating an affordability gap. They are also more likely to be running older petrol and diesel cars, which tend to have higher fuel consumption, further exacerbating the impact of fuel price increases. [4] Meanwhile, those who can afford to lease an EV benefit from lower running, insurance, and servicing costs - which can save over £1350 a year. [5]

This is an issue for Labour. In an existing cost-of-living crisis, further price increases only further damage the party’s electoral chances. The government has so far not succeeded in selling the cost benefits of the green transition, with 69% of people believing net-zero policies would increase their living expenses in the next two years. [6] With “greenlash” already spreading across the UK and beyond, climate policies such as EV expansion are at risk if it appears that the benefits will only go to the more affluent.

Introducing a new social leasing scheme is a chance to change this perception, and genuinely improve people’s lives - while cutting emissions. By subsidising small battery-electric vehicle leases by £100 a month, the government could bring monthly lease costs for a new EV down to as low as £77 a month. [7] This would make EV access affordable to hundreds of thousands of households on lower or middle incomes, helping them to make the switch from petrol and diesel - accelerating the transition, while directly benefiting their wallets. It would particularly benefit those who have to do high mileage for work, such as social care workers or community nurses. A social lease could save a typical social care worker such as Gina £1,056 over a vehicle term, plus the additional savings from lower running costs, and the benefits of being shielded from petrol price volatility. [8]

This policy wouldn’t need to break the bank. It could be sustainably funded by a levy on oversized luxury SUVs, which could generate £1.7 billion a year, funding 179,000 social leases. [9] Alternatively, for the same cost as maintaining the 5p cut in fuel duty, announced in May 2026, the government could fund 230,000 social leases per year. [10] This is a policy no-brainer for the government’s missions - while the greatest benefits of cutting fuel duty tend to go to those on higher incomes, social leasing would effectively target those on lower incomes and reduce our oil dependency.

This is a tried and tested policy, having already proved popular in France. The French government originally launched the scheme in 2022 with 25,000 places, but had to double this after they received almost 90,000 applications - showing just how popular EVs are once the economics work. Now, with the war in Iran drawing further attention to the cost benefits of EVs, the French government has funded another 100,000 social leases for lower-income households and high-mileage drivers. [11]

Increasing global volatility has made it clear: the UK cannot continue to rely on petrol and diesel for transport, or we risk entrenching inequalities and threatening our energy security. The UK must introduce social leasing as soon as possible – to cut bills for lower-income households, increase our energy independence in uncertain times, and fight the climate crisis.