Where in the UK is best prepared for the rise in electric vehicles?
With the UK Government banning the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, there is expected to be a dramatic increase in the sale of electric vehicles between now and then.
In preparation for the demand over the next few years, fleet management company, EVP Solutions has investigated where the UK is best prepared for the rise in electric vehicles. The research looked at how many charging stations there are per electric vehicle in various areas of the UK to determine where in the UK is best prepared for increased use of electric vehicles.
The research showed that currently, Scotland is the most prepared part of the UK for the predicted upsurge in electric vehicles, with one charging point currently running for every 2.7 electric cars in Scotland. As of December 2020, there were 26,000 Ultra Low Emission Vehicles in Scotland, which has doubled in the past year.
Following Scotland, Wales is the second most prepared area in the UK for the rise in electric vehicles, with 2.8 charging stations existing for every electric vehicle in the country. Even with saying that, it is thought that cities like Cardiff will need almost an extra 10,000 charging stations by 2025 to keep up with the predicted demand.
The area that is least prepared for the increased demand for electric vehicles is the East of England. There currently is one electric charging station per 6.1 vehicles as there are currently only 1582 charging points for the 9,555 electric and hybrid cars in the area. Just behind the East of England on the regional list, the South East of England with 5.4 electric vehicles per charging station, which is surprising as the South East of England is home to 20% of electric vehicles in the United Kingdom.
Overall, there is still a long way to meet the demand required for the rising demand for charging stations in the UK. Currently, every year an additional 7,000 charging stations are built, but to keep up with demand, this will need to rise to over 35,000 a year. This is to match what the UK Government said in their 2020 budget, where they announced that no electric vehicle should be more than 30 miles away from a rapid and public access charging point at any given time. There is still a long way to go, but making small improvements will continually help the roads become greener.
Full list of areas of the UK that are most prepared for the increase in electric vehicles
Scotland – 2.7 electric vehicles per charging station
Wales – 2.8 electric vehicles per charging station
West Midlands – 3.6 electric vehicles per charging station
Northern Ireland – 3.6 electric vehicles per charging station
North West – 4 electric vehicles per charging station
East Midlands – 4.1 electric vehicles per charging station
Yorkshire – 4.2 electric vehicles per charging station
North East – 4.3 electric vehicles per charging station
South West – 5.3 electric vehicles per charging station
South East – 5.4 electric vehicles per charging station
East England – 6 electric vehicles per charging station
