London Leads the Charge on Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

London tops the leaderboard on electric vehicle charging point rollout in the UK, according to the latest data from Volkswagen Financial Services UK.

Drivers in the capital have access to more charging units per person than in any other part of the UK, with the largest increase of 6.1 units per 100,000 people in the last quarter. London is closely followed by the West Midlands, which has seen an increase of 6 charging units per 100,000 people.

However, the expansion of charging point infrastructure is far from equitable across the UK, and more needs to be done to level out the playing field.

Yorkshire & The Humber, the South East and Scotland have made significant progress, while regions including Northern Ireland, North West, Wales, South West, East Midlands and the East of England have experienced lower rates of infrastructure installation, with provision declining in the North East. To meet the 2030 target suggested by the Competition and Markets Authority, more will need to be done to satisfy the demands of EV drivers as they rise in the coming years.

EV adoption is accelerating and the total number of all kinds of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) on Britain’s roads is almost one million (981,615). As more people choose to drive EV’s, it’s imperative that rollout continues across the whole of the UK. The Competition and Markets authority estimates that the UK will need 480,000 public charging points by 2030, which means that other regions must follow London’s lead in improving their charging infrastructure.

Mike Todd, CEO at Volkswagen Financial Services UK, said: “Our latest research continues to shed light on the rapidly evolving EV market and the factors influencing adoption. There is cause to be optimistic about continued uptake and the number of public chargers is rapidly increasing every year, paticularly in London, but it’s vitally important that the infrastructure rollout keeps pace to meet demand.

“As an industry we need to support customers to make the transition to an EV. One element of that is the availability of adequate charging, and creating a level playing field across the UK is vital. More needs to be done to address this postcode lottery, otherwise we‘ll find that people may hold onto vehicles for longer or delay making the switch to an EV.“