UK ‘lags behind’ in electric car revolution
New research names the UK a world leader – in being poorly equipped for the electric car revolution.
A study which compares EV infrastructure across different countries finds the UK ranks seventh-worst for the number of cars per charging point.
At the end of 2017, the UK was equipped with 13,543 publicly-accessible charging points, equal to 9.87 electric vehicles for every charger.
This figure was some way off Mexico, the best-equipped country with 0.6 cars per charger, and Ireland which came third with 2.66 vehicles for every charge point.
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However, some figures in the EV industry have challenged the legitimacy of the study, labelling it a simplistic way of measuring readiness for the electric revolution.
Erik Fairbairn, CEO of charging infrastructure provided Pod Point, said: “Most electric vehicle drivers charge at home, a fact which has been overlooked by this research.
“The average daily mileage [for an EV] in the UK is around 22 miles, and most mass-market EVs have between 150 and 250 miles of range.
“This, of course, means that in most circumstances a home charger is sufficient, and EV drivers generally only make occasional use of public charge points.”
SEE ALSO: Can you actually save money going electric in 2018?
The study also found that the UK has the fifth highest number of EVs of the countries surveyed, with 133,670 registered by the end of 2017.
Only China, the US, Japan and Norway had more registered electric vehicles, which will make welcome reading for the Government as it looks to boost EV uptake in the UK.
In July 2018, the Department for Transport announced its £400 million ‘Road to Zero’ strategy aimed at advancing the UK’s EV infrastructure, which could see hundreds of thousands of new charging points installed throughout the country.
The study was carried out by comparison website GoCompare and looked at the EV infrastructure in 30 different countries around the world.
Copyright Press Association 2018. Motoring News articles do not reflect the RAC's views unless clearly stated.
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