So where is the best place to own and drive an electric vehicle (EV)? Perhaps unsurprisingly, its Westminster, the heart of government. This is because of the availability of charging infrastructure, not extra earning by MPs!

The revelation comes as part of a new study by CarFinance247. This ranks the 20 best and 10 worst places to drive an EV based on data from the Department for Transport, which details the number of charging points per 100,000 residents in each UK local authority.

Switched on

London boroughs and Scottish authorities dominate the list, along with EV frontrunners such as Milton Keynes, Coventry, and Brighton & Hove. Meanwhile, the Isles of Scilly top the ‘worst’ list, with no EV chargers. The full lists can be found below.

As of October 1, 2021, there were 25,927 public EV charging devices across the UK (of which 4,923 were rapid chargers). The number of devices has increased by 6% on the previous quarter and, since 2015, the number of public devices has grown by 9%.

Louis Rix, COO and co-founder of CarFinance 247 said: “For some time now, London and Scotland have been way ahead of the game in terms of building a successful network of EV charging devices in their respective regions.

“The dark horses that have crept into the top 10 include Milton Keynes and Coventry. Their development outshines other areas of the country, with Coventry recently powering ahead to get as many EVs on the road as possible to drastically reduce the city’s use of petrol and diesel cars.

“There is, however, a significant amount still to be done before the UK can eliminate petrol and diesel-fuelled cars completely. The number of public chargers must increase into the hundreds across most parts of the UK. Considering that Westminster – one of the wealthiest areas in the country – has roughly 400 chargers per 100,000 residents, we’ll need to see areas reaching the same ratio to avoid energy crises in future.”

Top 20 places to drive an EV

Rank Local Authority Public Charging Devices Devices per 100,000 people
1 Westminster 1095 405.8
2 Kensington & Chelsea 547 348.7
3 City of London 36 329.1
4 Hammersmith & Fulham 580 316.0
5 Wandsworth 623 188.9
6 Richmond Upon Thames 354 178.7
7 Orkney Islands 40 178.6
8 Milton Keynes 372 137.7
9 Camden 373 133.4
10 Coventry 481 126.8
11 Stirling 115 122.2
12 Southwark 390 121.9
13 Brighton & Hove 345 118.3
14 Islington 286 115.3
15 East Lothian 123 114.0
16 Na h-Eileanan Siar 28 105.7
17 Hounslow 282 103.8
18 Argyll & Bute 86 100.7
19 Merton 199 96.4
20 Lambeth 307 95.4

 

10 worst places to drive an EV

Rank Local Authority Public Charging Devices Devices per 100,000 people
1 Isles of Scilly 0 0.0
2 Castle Point 3 3.3
3 Fenland 5 4.9
4 Medway 17 6.1
= 5 Rhondda Cynon Taf 18 7.4
= 5 Wirral 24 7.4
= 7 Bolton 24 8.3
= 7 Neath Port Talbot 12 8.3
9 Walsall 24 8.4
10 Southend-on-Sea 16 8.8