How much does it cost to charge a Mini Electric at home?

Charging cost by tariff

Costs include the ~12% energy lost during AC charging, so they reflect what your meter records. Off-peak rates assume all charging happens inside the cheap window — how much of your charging has to land in it decides whether an EV tariff pays. Rates vary by region. These are comparisons of published rates, not tariff recommendations.

Cheap to fill is not the same as cheap to run

A full charge of the Mini Electric costs £8.57 and takes 4 hr 8 min on a 7 kW wallbox — the quickest empty-to-full of any car on this site. Both figures come from the same fact: at 28.9 kWh this is the smallest battery here bar one, the Honda e's 28.5 kWh, and a small battery is quick and cheap to refill by definition.

Per mile it is unremarkable. The 5 mi/kWh WLTP figure works out at 5.9p a mile, £593.41 over 10,000 miles, and 5 cars here cost less per mile. That £8.57 buys 145 WLTP miles, so the cheap fill reflects how little the car holds rather than how far it goes on a kWh.

Charging time by charger type

Most owners choose between a 7 kW wallbox and the socket they already have. A three-pin plug costs nothing to install but charges at about 2.3 kW, which is the difference between an overnight top-up and a two-day one on this car’s 28.9kWh pack. Charging away from home is a different calculation again — public rapid rates run several times higher.

Times are simple energy-needed ÷ power estimates. Real sessions can run a little longer, because charging slows as the battery approaches full.

What affects these numbers for the Mini Electric

• This car charges at up to 11 kW on AC

  The Mini Electric's onboard charger accepts at most 11 kW from an AC connection. A 22 kW three-phase cannot charge it any faster than that, so there is no benefit in paying for a more powerful home charger than the car can use.

• A three-pin plug is a backup, not a plan

  From a standard three-pin socket (2.3 kW), an empty-to-full charge of the 28.9 kWh battery takes about 12 hr 34 min. Fine for overnight top-ups, but impractical as your only way to charge.

• More efficient than most EVs

  At 5 miles per kWh, the Mini Electric goes further on each unit of electricity than the typical EV, which is why its pence-per-mile figure is low for its size.

• Real-world figures vary

  The 145-mile range is the official WLTP lab figure. Cold weather and motorway speeds reduce real-world efficiency, which raises cost per mile and lowers range. Treat these numbers as good estimates, not promises.

• The 50 kW DC figure is not for home charging

  DC rapid charging at up to 50 kW only happens at public rapid chargers. All home charging is AC, so it is the 11 kW AC limit that matters for the times on this page.