​Energy company E.On has fired the first shot in a price war which could see prices for charging an electric car at home tumble.

Its latest version of the Next Drive Smart tariff now offers the lowest off-peak EV charging rate of any major supplier at 6.9p per kWh between 12am and 6am with compatible cars or wallboxes, while the universal Next Drive Fixed drops to 8.5p/kWh.

That compares to the 8p for Octopus’ Intelligent Go and 9.5p for the universal Go tariff. E.On’s peak prices are lower too, at just over 30p compared to 34p. Octopus prides itself on having the most popular EV tariffs in the UK, but it’s prices have been creeping up in the past year, causing some customers to defect.

Using our calculations it means the E.On tariffs will save £108.95 for the intelligent compatible customers and £48.39 for the standard EV packages over the Octopus products. That could be enough to make other suppliers – including Octopus – take notice and start shuffling prices too. 

Customers who choose to sign up to E.On’s Next Drive Smart or Next Drive Fixed can also claim a free year’s subscription to Zoom EV, an online platform that gives you benefits and discounts on things like public charging, parking and car hire.

The tariffs also include a one-off donation to the Woodland Trust.

It is not all good news though. Although the new E.On off peak prices are lower, it still has the highest standing charges of any major supplier at 60p per day. And the peak prices have crept up since last month too, meaning the new tariffs won’t be quite as competitive for customers who use a lot of energy during the day. 

You can check out our latest round up of best EV tariff prices here.