There are plenty of reasons for going electric: that pesky CO2 stuff, for one thing. But there’s another incentive for making the switch other than doing your bit for the polar bears: electric car charging costs.

You see, charging an electric car has been – historically, at least – cheaper than filling up with conventional fuel. And that means over the course of electric vehicle ownership, you could save yourself a lot of money in running costs. Really.

There are, of course, a couple of important caveats: to make the numbers work, you will need to do the majority of your charging at home. This is where electricity is most affordable (even with energy costs ballooning) and some tariffs will allow you to make the most of cheaper overnight rates when demand is low.

Public charging points – including the so-called ‘rapid’ chargers popping up at motorway service stations – tend to be a lot more expensive. And while they’re a godsend for topping up quickly on a long journey, you will be paying for the privilege. So much so that the price per mile of driving might not be that much different to that of a petrol or diesel car. Boo! Hiss!

Read more: TopGear