By FREDA LEWIS-STEMPEL, MOTORING REPORTER
You're excited to hit the road and drive home to see your friends and family for Christmas.
But while the end destination provides merriment, the journey itself can be a taxing annual slog because the roads are busy, services are crammed, and the miles are often long.
This Christmas, more people than ever before will be taking on this yearly task in electric cars, with an estimated 1.7million EVs on our roads. And for many, it'll be the first time they make the festive pilgrimage in a car powered by electricity.
Yet, even for seasoned pros this particular time of year is still a worry. A poll of 2,253 drives by Auto Express has found that more than a third of EV drivers are worried about range as they plan their Christmas journeys.
Fifty-five per cent of EV drivers are taking a trip of 100 miles or more, and while many don't have range anxiety, two in five admitted they have some apprehension about making it to their destination.
So, here are our top tips to make sure you have the smoothest journey possible and can charge easily and quickly - whether you're new to electric driving or a dab hand.
This Christmas more people than ever will be driving home in an electric car as there an estimated 1.7million EVs on our roads
The RAC is predicting a record 37.5million journeys home for Christmas in the week running up to the big day.
Saturday was expected to be the busiest getaway of any year since the RAC first started recording drivers' festive plans.
And with more EVs than before - up to 400,000 new EVs were registered in 2025 - on our roads, no one wants the kind of charging chaos that saw three-hour queues for Tesla Superchargers in 2022.
But fear not because that is unlikely to happen this year - as it also hasn't in the last two Christmas periods. And this is largely due to the growth of the UK's charging network, which is bigger than ever.
Between October 2024 and 2025, Britain's public charging infrastructure grew by 23 per cent with 15,000 additional chargers installed.
Today there are over 86,000 EV devices across the UK, with a charger being added every 33 minutes on average.
In particular for speedy Christmas getaways and long distance EV range top ups, 17,356 rapid and ultra-rapid chargers have been added to the network, with the fastest growth in regions outside of London.
New EV ultra-rapid charging superhubs like the new InstaVolt Winchester Superhub - the largest EV charging forecourt in the UK - have opened this year making Christmas getaways much easier
2025 has seen a bit of a ultra-rapid superhub boom, with many lightning fast EV charging sites popping up that don't just charge your car extremely quickly but provide great, secure facilities while you wait.
The most obvious new superhub to note is the UK's largest electric car charging forecourt - InstaVolt's Winchester Superhub. It opened this year and was an immediate hit with customers.
Located on a junction by the M3/A34 near Winchester. it's perfectly located to break up the journey down south to Devon or Cornwall and to make sure you get there with range to spare. Powered entirely by renewable energy sourced from an on-site solar farm, its 160kW devices can charge an EV's battery to 80 per cent in 20 minutes.
The 44 ultra-rapid chargers are all contactless pay compatible - just tap and go - and the 0.89p/kWh flat rate is reduced to 60p/kWh between 8pm to 7am for all InstaVolt app users.
The site is open 24/7 with around-the-clock toilet facilities; there's also a children's play park, a dog-walking area and a Starbucks Cafe (open 6am for the early risers and until 7pm for the evening caffeine hit).
There are also larger drive-through bays for big vehicles - great for those towing over the Christmas break - or disabled drivers and passengers who need more space.
The 44 ultra-rapid chargers are all contactless pay compatible - just tap and go - and the 0.89p/kWh flat rate is reduced to 60p/kWh between 8pm to 7am for all InstaVolt app users
The site is open 24/7 with around-the-clock toilet facilities, there's also a children's play park, a dog-walking area, and a Starbucks Cafe (open 6am for the early risers and until 7pm for the evening caffeine hit)
EV drivers journeying through Northern Ireland this festive season will find charging easier thanks to Fastned opening a state-of-the-art charging hub at The Junction Retail & Leisure Park in Antrim, making it an ideal stop for drivers travelling to and from Belfast and the surrounding areas.
The Antrim station features three 400kW ultra-rapid chargers and provides six charging spots as of today. It offers drivers up to 100 miles of range in just five minutes and uses 100 per cent renewable energy.
Thanks to it being situated within the Junction One Shopping Complex, drivers can make the most of their charging time by enjoying nearby restaurants and facilities.
And those heading up to Scotland, or down from Scotland to England, can stop off at E.On's first ultra-rapid hub in Scotland – at Wellington Circle, Aberdeen. It features 12 ultra-rapid charging bays, including four designed to provide additional accessibility for disabled users.
Christmas 2025 predictions aren't yet known but last year EV charging provider Gridserve found that on average, across its Electric Highway, the busiest time to charge is between 11am and 1pm.
By comparison, ultra-rapid charging at 9am or 3pm will be around 20 per cent quieter.
Therefore, Gridserve recommends switching your lunchtime sandwich stop for a morning coffee break or mid-afternoon snack pull over.
Top up your electric car battery before 8am or after 6pm if you can, as EV charging demand drops dramatically at these times.
These times are likely reflective of the whole rapid and ultra-rapid network so it's worth making a note.
The M25 (London Orbital Motorway): It's the busiest motorway in the UK and the M25 frequently experiences congestion. It could be one to try and avoid near Christmas
Based on past trends and predictions from 2024, there are some major roads to avoid if you don't want to get stuck in grid-locked traffic.
The M25 (London Orbital Motorway): It's the busiest motorway in the UK and the M25 frequently experiences congestion, particularly around major junctions like Heathrow Airport and the Dartford Crossing.
The M6 (Midlands to North-West): Runs through Birmingham and connects the Midlands to the North-West. It's a road millions of cars journey on and so the M6 is a key route that’s likely to see bottlenecks, especially between junctions 10-12.
A303 (Stonehenge Section): Who hasn't got stuck in Stonehenge traffic? Travellers heading towards the South-West pile onto this road. The A303 is a crunch point for ongoing roadworks and thousands of sightseers. If you travel in the darker hours you'll at least avoid those stopping to take photos.
The Tesla Supercharger network is the best 'large' rapid/ultra-rapid charging provider in the UK according to EV drivers. If you're planning a motorway stop, a Supercharger will be cheaper than most and reliable
Every year, leading charge point mapping and data service Zapmap announces the results of its annual satisfaction rankings for rapid and ultra-rapid charging public networks in the UK.
It's worth having this list in mind before your Christmas getaway so you get the best and easiest rapid charge possible.
You can read the full rankings here but we'll sum them up quickly for you as well.
The Tesla Supercharger network has been voted the best large charging network with a star rating of 4.8 out of five, up from 4.7 last year when it also clinched the title.
Tesla continues to offer significantly lower prices than most rapid/ultra-rapid providers, with drivers also appreciating its reliability. It's been open to non-Tesla owners since last year.
In second place is MFG EV Power for the large category, with a star rating of 3.9.
Drivers say they particularly appreciate MFG EV Power's reliability, ease of use and wide range of ways to pay.
Ionity and Osprey share third place.
Both providers were awarded 3.8 in the star rating, with Ionity getting the seal of approval from drivers due to its reliability, ease of use and wide range of ways to pay.
Osprey got its 3.8 rating because of its excellent customer service - joint highest alongside Tesla - and ease of use and reliability.
Sainsbury's Smart Charge network is the best medium-sized EV charging provider and is the perfect way to charge your car up while you do the Christmas food shop
And supermarket shoppers should know that Sainsbury's charging network Smart Charge came home with gold in the medium category, with a star rating of 4.4.
Only launched in January 2024, it has grown 40 per cent since and now has 335 rapid/ultra-rapid devices across 84 locations.
Also receiving an 'Up-and-coming network' award in last year's ranking, Smart Charge is loved for its competitive pricing with partner offers that leverage the Nectar card rewards scheme. It's also liked for its reliability and ease of use.
Rule one: Never jump the queue.
Even when you've planned ahead there can be a line of people waiting, especially during peak time, so be patient and and polite - i.e. treat your charging neighbour as you'd want to be treated. This is especially the case as there's no real queuing system.
Rule two: don't hog bays
Once your EV is charged move it as soon as possible, or even better be there as it reaches full charge so you can take it off as soon as it's done.
Check your app so you keep an eye on it and if you're leaving it for a while you can always leave a note.
Charging speed slows after 80 per cent so if there's a big queue or someone waiting consider pushing on and topping up again if you need rather than going to 100 per cent.
Plan your charging stops and check live availability on charging apps
Almost all new electric cars have satnavs that will plan your journey with charging stops en route.
But it's worth having an alternative in mind or a manually planned stop or two in the bag just in case.
Crucially don't forget to use either your EV's onboard system to give you live updates or apps like Zapmap that show you in real time whether a charger is in use or not - that way you can see before you pull in and adjust accordingly.
Ignore the 80% charge limit: For your festive getaway it's fine to set your charge limit to 100% to make sure you can get as many miles out of your EV as possible
It’s well drilled into EV drivers to only charge to 80 per cent usually to extend battery life, but on this occasion its worth ditching that rule and charging to 100 per cent ahead of your Christmas journey.
To get as much range as possible out of your car, and to avoid having to stop and charge during the busy period, then it’s worth it to charge all the way and have a full battery.
One or two trips with 100 per cent won’t be enough to hurt battery health but will give you that extra piece of mind.
But if you do need to stop to charge en route, revert to the 80 per cent rule. With the charging speed curve dropping off dramatically between 80 and 100 per cent, all you'll do is block others from accessing a charger for longer.
This is one of the easiest ways to save charge.
Many electric cars have pre-conditioning modes which allow you to set the cabin temperature of your EV while it finishes charging and whack on the heated seats or steering wheel so it's as toasty as possible before you unplug and set off.
You can also defrost the windows in this way.
Follow these simple steps and you won't have any charging nightmares. But we still can't guarantee you won't get stuck 'top to toe in tailbacks'.
