Are EVs Suitable For High-Mileage Drivers?

For the longest time, electric vehicles have carried a reputation problem.

They are seen as perfect for short commutes. Ideal for city driving. Great if you potter locally and rarely venture far from home. But if you are covering serious distance each year, say 15,000 miles or more, the assumption has often been that an EV simply will not cope.

At P+B, we support drivers at both ends of the spectrum. Some clients cover 6,000 miles a year in compact city cars. Others are long-distance commuters, rural residents or regional sales professionals spending hours each week on the motorway. So let’s look at whether EVs genuinely stack up for those covering 15,000 miles or more.

What do we mean by high mileage?

There is no official definition, but in practice we consider 15,000 miles a year to be the point where mileage becomes a meaningful factor in decision-making.

That number sounds significant. Yet when you break it down, it is surprisingly ordinary. It equates to roughly 1,250 miles per month, or somewhere between 280 and 300 miles per week. For many people, that is simply a daily commute plus weekend use. It could be motorway travel into a city, long client visits, or living rurally where every journey involves distance.

Interestingly, fewer than five percent of UK vehicles exceed 15,000 miles per year. Yet that still represents close to two million drivers. It is a sizeable group, and one that deserves more than generic assumptions.

Speak to anyone who drives those kinds of miles and you will hear the same priorities repeated. The car must be dependable. It must be economical. It must be comfortable over long distances. The question is whether electric vehicles can now deliver on all three.

The perception versus the reality

This is where the conversation often goes wrong. There is a lingering belief that high mileage automatically makes EV ownership inconvenient or stressful. In truth, that has less to do with reality and more to do with outdated experience.

The average new EV today offers around 300 miles of range, with many comfortably exceeding that. Some models now push well beyond 400 miles in real-world conditions. If you are covering 300 miles a week, you are not charging daily. You are typically topping up a couple of times a week. In many cases, that charging happens overnight at home.

EVs are not universally perfect. If you cover very high daily mileage without access to home charging and rely entirely on opportunistic public charging, ownership will require more planning. Similarly, if you regularly travel in areas with limited infrastructure, the experience may not be seamless.

That does not mean EVs are unsuitable. It simply means the setup must be considered carefully. High mileage amplifies both the strengths and the weaknesses of any vehicle choice.

Why home charging becomes essential

For high-mileage drivers, home charging most definitely becomes a bigger factor. A home charger effectively becomes your own petrol pump. Instead of planning trips to a forecourt, stopping on the way to work, or remembering to fill up before a long journey, you simply plug in at night and wake up to a full battery.

On most EV tariffs, a full overnight charge costs in the region of £6 to £7 as of early 2026. That can deliver 300 to 350 miles of usable range. Compared to petrol or diesel, particularly when repeated week after week, the savings quickly become significant.

Just as importantly, it removes friction. There is no early morning detour to a petrol station. No mental note that you are running low. You start each day full. For drivers covering large distances, that predictability is powerful.

Motorway driving and real-world range

It is true that EVs, like petrol and diesel cars, are less efficient at sustained motorway speeds. Higher speeds demand more energy. That is physics, not a flaw.

Yes, range will deplete faster on the motorway than it would around town. But modern EVs provide highly accurate live range estimates. They adjust predictions based on your driving style and route. They can automatically guide you towards available charging points if needed.

For most high-mileage drivers, charging becomes something you plan lightly rather than something you worry about. A 15 to 20 minute stop on a longer journey often coincides with what you would do anyway. Coffee, a break, a quick email check. With today’s rapid charging speeds, that short stop can add 150 to 200 miles back into the battery.

The idea that long journeys are impossible in an EV is simply no longer credible.

The public charging network is improving

Public charging used to be one of the strongest objections. It is still part of the conversation, but the landscape has shifted significantly.

The UK is adding thousands of charge points every year, with an increasing focus on rapid and ultra-rapid chargers at motorway services and key routes. Charging speeds of 100kW and above are now commonplace, and some vehicles can accept substantially more.

In addition, Tesla has opened large parts of its Supercharger network to non-Tesla vehicles. Given the scale and reliability of that network, this has meaningfully improved coverage for many drivers.

Range anxiety has not disappeared entirely, but it is shrinking each year as infrastructure and technology evolve.

Does higher mileage mean higher cost?

Many assume that if you drive more, the cost will spiral. In reality, it is more nuanced.

Insurance, for example, is often influenced more by postcode and driver profile than by mileage alone. Within a salary sacrifice arrangement for example, insurance is typically group-rated and locked in for the duration of the agreement. Because it is paid before tax, drivers can achieve substantial savings compared to insuring privately.

Maintenance is another area where perception and reality diverge. High mileage does increase wear, particularly on tyres. EV-specific tyres can cost between £200 and £400 each, and a high-mileage driver will naturally go through them more quickly.

However, within a well-structured salary sacrifice scheme, maintenance, servicing and tyres are included. Rather than facing unpredictable bills, costs are smoothed into a fixed monthly figure. For someone covering significant distance, that certainty matters.

As for battery degradation, this remains one of the most persistent fears. Yet real-world data increasingly shows that modern EV batteries are highly resilient. Even high-mileage vehicles demonstrate relatively modest degradation over several years. For most drivers, the battery will comfortably outlast the term of the finance agreement.

For many drivers covering 15,000 miles or more each year, EVs can be cheaper to run, easier to live with and less stressful day to day than petrol or diesel equivalents.

The equation is straightforward. Access to home charging. A vehicle with appropriate range and efficiency. A clear understanding of how and where you drive.

Get those right, and high mileage stops being a barrier. In many cases, it becomes one of the strongest arguments in favour of going electric.

If you are unsure whether an EV stacks up for your routes, your mileage and your circumstances, that’s where P+B can come in.