Best and Worst Places in the UK to Own an Electric Vehicle

Dudley, West Midlands, is the best town to switch to an EV with 98% of charging points for free and the fastest charging time in the UK.

In contrast, Peterborough in East England is the 10th best place in the UK to switch to an EV.

The index analysed factors that may influence drivers when switching to EVs, such as EV charging point distribution, percentage of free charging points, and charging times.

Despite having the highest number of EV charging points in the country, 79% of EV chargers in London require payment, while in Liverpool, this figure is as high as 81%.

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The 10 Most Incentivised UK Towns and Cities for EV Ownership

*More densely populated areas such as London are less likely to have high output chargers due to infrastructure challenges. More remote areas are more likely to have the newest infrastructure and chargers. 

Dudley is the best town in the UK to switch to electric, with a final EV readiness score of 8.13 out of ten. Whilst it may only have 83 EV chargers (2,398 people per charger), 98% of those are free to use, helping residents save money on charging costs. The charging points in the town are also amongst the fastest in the UK on average (2 hours 29 minutes) - proving cost and speed a large selling point for Dudley’s EV infrastructure.

In second place is Nottingham, with a final score of 7.87 out of ten. Despite lengthy average charging times for EVs, the city is amongst the top 10 in the UK for charger availability (1,135 people per charger). Not only that, but people living in Nottingham can also enjoy an impressive 98% of free charging points. 

Slough’s average power output of chargers, and over one hour quicker charging time than Nottingham places it as the third best city for EV ownership. The high percentage of free charging points distribution (95%) also makes up for its disappointing spread of charger availability (2,824 per charger).

The 10 Least Incentivised UK Areas for EV Ownership

Overall, Blackpool is the town most struggling to encourage the public to change to electric, with an EV readiness score of only 1.81 out of ten. The Lancashire seaside town has just 14 charging points available, equating to more than 17,000 residents per charger.

Despite the hurdles, drivers in Blackpool have waits of 3 hours and 21 minutes to charge their electric vehicles - 33 minutes less than those in nearby Preston, where the charging time averages 3 hours and 54 minutes.

Huddersfield placed second worst within the rankings thanks to an EV readiness score of just 1.98 out of ten. Charging time is significantly lower in the Yorkshire town (2 hours 20 minutes), which can be attractive for those looking to switch to an EV. However, there are nearly 10,000 residents per EV charger (15), but, more discouragingly, just 20% of these offer free charging.

Middlesbrough’s high waiting times for EV charging (4 hours 36 minutes) places it as the third most struggling to encourage the public to change to electric. Also contributing to its low EV readiness score of 2.01 out of ten is the low percentage of free charging points on offer (21%). 

Across the 88 towns and cities analysed, on average 70% of charging points are free. 

Huddersfield is also the third worst area for access to free charging, beaten only by Hastings (11%) and Liverpool (19%). 

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