Figures obtained by British Gas show Tunbridge Wells was among just 21 councils across England and Wales that allow motorists to top up their batteries for free.
TWBC has a number of electric vehicle (EV) chargers in its car parks as well as a street charger on Mount Pleasant Road.
Drivers can use these devices to recharge for free, if they have paid for parking, but drivers in other areas are charged up to £4 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
To charge a typical EV from flat to full at that rate would cost £240, the analysis found.
EV drivers without a driveway or off-street parking often rely on public charging points.
British Gas issued a warning over the ‘postcode lottery’ of fees after commissioning a survey of 2,000 motorists, which indicated one in three are nervous about switching to EVs due to charging costs.
The energy firm’s head of EV enablement, Lucy Simpson, said: “Currently, we have 21 progressive councils that have decided to support local EV adoption, so we would expect a greater uptake of EVs to come through in these areas than in councils where it is expensive to charge.
“If this continues, we risk leaving a huge number of drivers behind in the transition to electric cars.”
The survey comes as Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council [TMBC] has confirmed it is to install up to 32 electric vehicle charging points in six of its car parks this spring.
They will be the first charging points installed in TMBC car parks and will provide charging facilities for residents and visitors to the area.
The car parks with the chargers will include Bradford Street, River Lawn Road, Sovereign Way North, and Upper Castle Fields.
TMBC’s Cabinet member for Environment and Climate Change, Cllr Robin Betts said: “It’s a real step forward to have electric vehicle charging points easily available to residents and visitors alike, which in turn I hope will encourage people to invest in electric and hybrid cars in the future.
“Working in partnership with Connected Kerb and KCC will be an important step in the challenge to meet our key climate change targets and responsibilities for the borough and the early rollout of the electric vehicle charging points signifies good progress.”
The announcement comes as the Department of Transport figures show a 57 per cent year on year increase in ultra-low emission vehicles licensed in Tonbridge & Malling with 1,142 cleaner cars on the roads.
