Lydia Pearson
August 30, 2023
New research has revealed what regions of the UK are best-placed to deal with the current and near-future population of electric cars in their area.
There are now 10,500 electric charging points in the UK, which is far more than the 8,394 petrol stations. If you look at the road length of Britain, there is now a charging location every 23.35 miles. By comparison, there is a petrol station every 29.39 miles.
However, one criticism of the infrastructure, aside from its density, is the number of rapid chargers. Just 23 percent of connectors offer higher charging speeds that are a more appealing proposition to EV drivers.
“More investment in rapid charging devices and connectors also needs to be made, so motorists feel comfortable driving long distances without worrying they may encounter travel delays,” emphasises Tim Schwarz, Head of marketing at Moneybarn.
While you might imagine London to be well in the lead, a strong number of chargers feeds a strong demand. It’s Scotland that’s in the lead for EVs per charging connector, with 3.32. The North East and London aren’t far behind, with a respective 3.39, and 3.79. London is still high up the list, in spite of a higher volume of EVs and the introduction of the ULEZ. Wales and the North West round out the top five, with 4.65 and 5.21 respectively.
Below the top five, things take a bit of a dive. The East Midlands in sixth, has 6.95, while Yorkshire & Humber in seventh and the South West in eighth have close to ten. The bottom three regions are the South East, East and West Midlands, with 11.53, 14.89 and 17.4.
“It’s great to see the UK continuing to develop its EV infrastructure ahead of its Road to Zero deadline,” Schwarz continues.
“However, with the Government keen to accelerate its ban on petrol and diesel cars, it’s clear areas like the West and East Midlands and the South East, need to improve their current EV facilities.”
