Electric vehicles cost an average 23% less to service and maintain over three years/60,000 miles than petrol models.

The gap in comparative maintenance cost is more extreme for smaller vehicles. For example a Renault Zoe will cost £1,100 to maintain over that period, while a Vauxhall Corsa 1.0T 90 Design costs £1,497, an increase of 35.7%.

And the research by Cap HPI found the Nissan Leaf costs £1,197 to maintain over three years, 19% lower than the Volkswagen Golf 1.0TSI 110 SE at £1,429.

Chris Plumb, senior valuations editor at Cap HPI, said: “An electric car motor has far fewer moving parts than a petrol or diesel engine.

“They also benefit from gentler driving styles that lead to lower wear and tear of brakes and tyres.

“While the purchase price is often higher at the moment, but coming down all the time, drivers will find an EV much cheaper to run with significantly lower costs to charge rather than visit the pump and lower maintenance costs.”

The number of electric vehicles on Britain’s roads has leapt 128% since 2015, according to research by Cap HPI.

The study compared April 2018 to April 2015 and found there are 21,019 more electric vehicles being driven in the UK.