Driving home for Christmas
Start charging your EV with bp pulse
Our top EV driving tips to beat the festive rush this year
The festive season can be a busy time for EV drivers between Christmas shopping and seeing family. So here are 3 tips to make your EV driving as chilled as possible during the most wonderful time of the year.
1. Know your ABC
A good mindset to have in the run-up to the holidays is ‘Always be Charging’ (ABC) to ensure that you’ll always be journey ready whenever you need to set off.
It’s usually best to always charge your EV to around 80% to keep the battery in great shape. However, before a long trip, you might be tempted to charge 100% to help beat range anxiety. A one-off 100% charge should not significantly affect your battery performance in the long-term. (Double-check your user manual first.)
When you do hit the road, you can also recharge your battery on the move using regenerative braking - typically a standard feature. It converts some of the energy lost during braking into electricity, which is then stored in the vehicle's battery.
Of course, taking the chance to charge while you're on your journey can also be a convenient moment to stock up on snacks, or shop for gifts and festive food. Look out for our sites at Marks & Spencer stores across the UK, including Cheshunt, Brooklands, Lisburn, and Cardiff, as well as sites at retail parks such as Silverburn in Glasgow, Castle Marina retail park and more.
2. Time your ride
Though business-related travel reduces in the run up to Christmas Day, many use this period as a last chance to hit the shops. For many, there’s no other option than the days immediately before 25 December. The AA estimated in 2024 that over 100 million car journeys were expected to make festive journeys over a five-day period – with 20th December being the busiest day with a record 23.7 million trips planned.
During busy periods it pays to make an early start or drive late at night when the roads – and charging points – are likely to be quieter. Arriving at the family home on Christmas Day itself is a better choice with a lot fewer journeys happening on the 25th – you’d agree, nothing beats showing up as the turkey comes out of the oven. From Boxing Day, traffic tends to be at lower levels until the New Year.
With the risk of bad weather, driving long distances should be timed with the forecast in mind. Always plan your route and anticipate rain, snow and icy conditions that might impact on battery life and charger availability. Our guide for driving in winter will help put the ease into your seasonal journey.
3. Plan your route
Driving to see your loved ones over the holidays can involve long-distance driving. When planning to make your journey nice and easy, remember you don’t have to use a motorway. Choosing an A road alternative is likely to take you via charging stations that have less demand. Download the bp pulse app here to filter the stations by speed, amenities, number of bays and availability.
For motorway users, there’s great news, with the opening of big charging stations around the country. These are likely to be popular, but chargers are almost always available due to the sheer number of bays.
A visit to the NEC Birmingham Gigahub™ will help take the pain out of M6, M42 and M40 Christmas Day traffic with capacity for an impressive 180 vehicles to charge simultaneously. EV drivers on the M1 in north Northamptonshire can head to a powerful new charging station at Kettering, featuring 10 300kW chargers, equating to 20 150kW charging points, while Reading East and West Connect on the M4 both offer capacity for eight vehicles to charge simultaneously.
In 2025, we have welcomed more sites, including the ones at M&S Taunton, M&S Lisburn, Greengate Services Bradford and Kingsway Road Dundee.
And don’t forget our new Goole site near the M62 has eight ultrafast bp pulse charging bays. Our Heathrow site, with its 12 ultrafast charging bays, is perfect if you’re arriving, departing or dropping off. And for London drivers, our Cromwell Road charging station has 10 ultrafast charging bays right in the heart of the city.
And if you didn’t know, in case you need refreshments en route, many bp pulse sites include M&S Simply Food outlets and wildbean cafe where you can get 50% off on hot drinks on your charge… perfect for a little extra winter cheer along the way!
Have a very happy holiday journey with bp pulse!
