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Here are the Top EV-Friendly Cities in the UK

See which UK Cities are the most EV-friendly

If you’ve been considering joining the electric revolution, you may be wondering if your city is able to cater to your needs. You’ll have to consider things like how many charging stations there are, whether you’d benefit from driving in Low Emissions Zones, and whether it is feasible to have a home charger installed on your street.

 

We go through what makes city EV friendly, and which ones are the best for electric car drivers.

 

What Makes a City ‘EV Friendly’?

There are several factors which will affect how EV-friendly your city is.

 

  • Number of charging points. Ideally, you need to live somewhere that has an ample amount of car chargers, so you know you will always be able to top your car up when you are out and about, if needed.

  • Low Emission Zones. Of course, you don’t need to live in a city that has a LEZ to drive an electric vehicle, but you will benefit much more as you will not have to pay the charges in place to drive high emission vehicles in low emission zones.

  • At-home charging capabilities. Areas of housing with private driveways are the best for at home charging installation. It is possible for on-road chargers to be installed, but you may need permission from the council.

  • EV friendly garages. Only 16% of garages are qualified to work on electric vehicles, so it is important that you live in an area which has a suitable garage nearby for your MOT, servicing, and maintenance needs.

 

How Many Charging Points are There in the UK?

According to data supplied by ZapMap, at the end of June 2023 there were a total of 44,408 electric vehicle charging points across the UK, in 25,521 charging locations. This is a 36% increase in the total number of charging points in the past 12 months.

 

Which Area of the UK Has the Most Charging Points?

It is no surprise that our capital city has the most charging points in the UK. According to Zap-Map, there are a total of 13,382 electric car charging points, thousands of which are on the street so residents can charge their electric vehicles close to their homes. This accounts for 30.1% of all electric vehicle chargers in the UK.

 

The South East comes in second with 12.7% - a total of 5620 – and Scotland in third place with 9.1%, a total of 4023.

 

Which City is the Best to Own an Electric Vehicle?

According to data provided by the Department of Transport, Coventry is the best place in the UK to own a plug in vehicle. This is because as of June 2023 there are 1092 public charging points, and 1298 plug in vehicles – which is a ratio of just 1.1 vehicles per charger.

 

Coming in second and third were London boroughs of Southwark and Westminster, with 1.3 and 1.5 vehicles per electric chargers respectively.

 

Which Cities are Most Prepared for Electric Vehicles?

In May 2022, Saga Insurance carried out some research which determined how ready each city is for the electric car revolution. They did this by interviewing drivers as well as analysing data regarding charging points and grid infrastructure. They determined the top ten cities that are most prepared for the electric shift are as follows:

  1. Greater London

  2. Newcastle upon Tyne

  3. Glasgow

  4. Coventry

  5. Edinburgh

  6. Birmingham

  7. Portsmouth

  8. Leeds

  9. Brighton and Hove

  10. Sheffield

 

Saga developed a score to determine how prepared a city is to shift to EVs, and ranked the following out of ten:

  • Number of ULEVs

  • Charging Points

  • Off-Street Parking

  • Cost of Charging

  • Clean Air Zone

You can read the in-depth findings on Saga’s website.

 

Which is the Worst UK City for EVs?

According to the data from the Department of Transport, the worst place to own an EV is the Isles of Scilly. Research suggests that there are zero public chargers – but luckily, there are only 12 plug-in vehicles on the archipelago.

 

Castle Point in the East of England has just three public chargers which has to be shared between 499 plug-in vehicles, meaning there are 166 vehicles to each charger.

 

Read More

How Many Electric Cars are There in the UK?

As more and more drivers make the switch to electric cars, the number of EVs on UK roads are growing every month. Learn more about the popularity of electric cars in the UK in 2024 and find out the latest stats and figures in this article.

 

How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car? (UK)

The price of charging an electric car varies depending on where you plug yours in. If you’re looking to buy an EV, you want to know that you can afford to recharge it as often as you need. Find out how much it costs to charge an electric car at home and at public charging points here.

 

Where Can I Charge an Electric Car?

There are plenty of public charging points in the UK but they can be hard to find for many new electric car drivers. Find out more in this article, which details where you can charge your electric car as well as how to find your nearest charging point.

 

How Much Does it Cost to Install an Electric Car Charger?

Charging an electric car at home is more convenient and can cost less than using public charging points. However, you must have the right infrastructure installed before you can do so. Find out more in this article, which details how to install a home charging point, as well as how much it costs to do so.