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Which UK cities and towns are best prepared for EVs?
An analysis of electric charging points reveals which cities and towns are the most in line with UK government guidelines for zero emissions in 2035.
The UK town of Sutton in the outer London borough of Sutton has been judged to be the place most prepared for electric vehicles.
It is revealed in a study by motor trade insurance experts One Sure Insurance, which assesses how prepared cities are for the UK government zero emission plans of 2035.
Zero-emission guidelines
The research analysed the number of EV chargers within cities and town, and the number of vehicles registered to identify which cities are most prepared for the government guidelines.
The government has announced that manufacturers of new zero-emission cars will be required to increase their production by a certain percentage each year until 2035. By the year 2030, 80 per cent of all new cars sold will need to be electric. These new regulations will require cities and towns to prepare for an increase in demand for electric charging stations.
“If cities are not properly prepared for an influx of electric vehicles, many drivers will not make the switch”
Sutton has the highest number of electric charging stations per registered vehicle in the UK. With 2,861 charging stations in Sutton and 89,000 registered vehicles, there are currently 3.1 thousand chargers available per 100K vehicles if all the vehicles were electric.
The south London town of Croydon is the second most prepared for 2030, with 3,083 chargers. In total, Croydon has 2.1K electric charges per 100K vehicles.
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London itself is revealed as the third most prepared city, although the number of chargers available per vehicle drops significantly between Croydon and London. The study discovered that London has only 353 electric charging points available per 100K vehicles.
However, it has the highest percentage of electric vehicles, with almost four per cent of the vehicles registered in London being electric, although this is still far from the number the government aims to achieve.
The study revealed that Coventry is just behind London, with 351 charging points available for every 100K vehicles. Edinburgh is the fifth most prepared city in the UK, with 263 points available for every 100K vehicles registered in Edinburgh.
Cities and towns with the most charging points per registered vehicle were analysed as:
- Sutton
- Croydon
- London
- Coventry
- Edinburgh
- Liverpool
- Oxford
- Birkenhead
- Brighton
- St Albans.
Hereford has been named the least prepared for a move towards a greener future. The city only has eight electric charging points per 100,000 vehicles. The second worst city for electric charging points is Derry, with only nine charging points in the city – however overall, it has 11 charging points per 100K registered vehicles.
The third and fourth worst in the UK for charging points were Inverness and Northampton.
Cities and towns with the least charging points per registered vehicle in the analysis are:
- Hereford
- Derry
- Inverness
- Northampton
- Doncaster
- Chelmsford
- Chester
- Wrexham
- Sheffield
- Leeds.
A spokesperson for One Sure Insurance said: “If cities are not properly prepared for an influx of electric vehicles, many drivers will not make the switch. With the added cost of electricity set to rise again in January, the government needs to work harder to make electric vehicles a viable option for car owners.”
Data was collected from Zap-map.com to identify the locations of EV chargers.
Why not try these links to see what our SmartCitiesWorld AI can tell you.
(Please note this is an experimental service)
How does the number of EV chargers per vehicle impact adoption rates?What factors contribute to Sutton's high EV charger availability?How will UK cities meet the 80% electric car sales target by 2030?What challenges do cities with low EV charging points face for 2035?How can government policies improve EV infrastructure in underprepared towns?
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