UK areas most and least ready for an electric vehicle future

Electric cars are taking over

The ban on sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2030 may have non-EV drivers starting to think about changing soon, but are the cities and towns of the UK ready and have the necessary infrastructure in place?

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New research by esure reveals which areas in the UK are the best, and worst, prepared for an EV future based on the number of hybrid/electric vehicles and available charging points per area.

Places most ready for an electric vehicle future:

  1.  London
  2.  Sunderland
  3.  Kirkwall
  4.  Newcastle
  5.  Durham
  6.  Dumfries
  7.  Teeside
  8.  Brighton
  9.  Manchester
  10.  Nottingham

Chargepoint data was gathered via GOV and API call, data correct as of 28/01/2022. To determine the number of cars per charger, the volume of EV and hybrid ownership per area was divided by the number of chargers available in each area.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, London comes out on top as the best prepared with only 4.1 cars per charger, meaning you won’t face much competition should you find yourself on low battery all of a sudden.

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Representing the north is Sunderland which follows closely behind in spot number two with just 4.7 cars per charger and Scotland’s Kirkwall makes an appearance in third with 7.2 cars per charger.

It would appear the North East is leading the way for an EV future with four cities making the top 10  including both Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Durham taking the fourth and fifth positions with 8.4 and 10.7 cars per charger respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 is Dumfries (11.6), Brighton (11.8), Manchester (12.2), and last but not least is Nottingham in the tenth spot with a respectable 13.6 cars per charger.

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Places least ready for an electric vehicle future:

  1.  Stockport
  2.  Swindon
  3.  Slough
  4.  Harrogate
  5.  Peterborough
  6.  Leeds
  7.  Bristol
  8.  Bath
  9.  Bolton
  10.  Telford

On the other end of the scale are the likes of Stockport where you might be waiting a while for an available charger given that there are 448.3 EV and hybrid cars on the road per charger.

Meanwhile, Swindon’s EV charging infrastructure means that 291.8 EV and hybrid cars will have to compete in order to find a charger and Slough is not much better with 244.7.

Neil Dwyer at esure says: "As indicated within our research, it’s crucial that some of these locations invest in their EV infrastructure in order to ensure a smooth transition for those on the road before the end of the decade.

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However, regardless of where you live, if you’re driving an EV or planning on doing so anytime soon, it’s important to make sure you’re properly covered and have the appropriate insurance in place should any problems arise.”