With the government’s target to stop the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030, many people will be looking to make the switch to electric in the coming years. But where in the UK has the best infrastructure in place to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs)?
To find out, MINI UK has commissioned the Electric Progress Report, an in-depth research piece utilising government data on publicly available charge points and private electric vehicle ownership to reveal which cities are the best for electric car owners.
- Milton Keynes, London, and Leeds rank as the three best places for electric car owners due to their large amounts of publicly available charge devices and privately registered Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs).
- Scotland has had the highest adoption of electric cars of any UK country over the past three years.
- Wales had the greatest increase in charge devices from 2020 to 2021 with 32%. This is predicted to grow by 27% in 2022 to 1,261, based on the historic rate of growth.
- At a town level, Barnsley will see the greatest predicted increase in electric charge devices in 2022 (55%).
- Outside of London, Birmingham residents are turning to the internet the most to find out more about electric vehicles, with 1,900 Google searches monthly on the topic.
In addition to the index which reveals which cities are the best for electric car owners, MINI also commissioned a survey of 1,152 young drivers to see if this eco-conscious generation is driving the demand for electric vehicles. Almost half (46%) of those asked said their next car purchase would be electric if there were no barriers to purchase and 46% also said they’d feel confident in owning and maintaining one. But overall, only 3% of 18- to 30-year-olds in the UK currently own an electric car.
Why is this? The survey revealed that the biggest barriers to ownership are cost and range. Over half of respondents (57%) said they were worried about the cost of charging electric cars, and concern remains high for the range of mileage they currently provide (52%). Two in five (43%) said that they are worried about the availability of public charging point devices and that EVs are simply too expensive to buy (41%).
But public charge points at supermarkets or car parks are often free to use for the duration of your stay and our research shows that charge point availability is on the rise in the UK by an estimated 24% from 25,927 in 2021 to 32,122 in 2022. As electric cars improve, their mileage also increases. In fact, the MINI Electric has a range of up to 145 miles meaning you can get where you need to go with one charge.
Head to https://www.mini.co.uk/en_GB/home/mini-news/mini-electrification-report.html to see the full Electric Progress Report and to discover more about how the UK performs.
Federico Izzo, Director for MINI UK & Ireland said: “It’s encouraging to see the overall findings of the Electric Progress Report are positive and show that the UK is making nationwide strides to support electric mobility and a greener future. MINI is committed to a more sustainable future and will be the first BMW Group brand to become fully electric by the early 2030s.”
