The Best Areas for EV Charging

26 May 20229 min read

Is your region ready for an electric future?

Here at Allstar, we are helping to make the switch to EVs easy through our EV card solutions.

To help you uncover the best areas of the UK for driving an EV, we've done the research and found the regions that are best prepared for an electric future. With the UK government's new Net Zero strategy, electric vehicles are taking over.

And you can get ahead of the curve by finding out the best places in the UK to get an EV and charge it.

We've taken data provided by the government to make this process easier for you. That way, you can find out if your town or city is ready for an EV, and what other places in the UK might be a better fit for your plug-in lifestyle.

In addition to showing what number of public charging points exist in each city and town, it also shows how many electric vehicles are registered locally.

If you’re looking for more information on where in the UK is best equipped for electric transportation, you’ve come to the right place.

What is the importance of installing charging stations?

Many drivers are not considering purchasing an electric vehicle (EV) despite the pending ban on the purchase of new fuel cars. Recent surveys found that 24% of Brits say a lack of charging stations is putting them off, and 21% say the hassle of recharging is a factor. In order to meet targets set by the government and ensure zero emissions is achieved, encouraging drivers to switch to EVs in paramount.

But, how can this be possible if a lack of charging sites still remains?

The UK had 31,507 charging points located across 19,707 charging locations as of April 2022. ‌Since April 2021, the number of charging devices has increased by 35%. Nevertheless, by 2030, when diesel and petrol car sales will cease in the country, the country will need up to 480,000 public charge points.

However, electric cars require drivers to be able to recharge their batteries at home and while they're out and about - which means that business owners and homeowners alike will need to install charge points.

In addition to the integration of home and business chargers, it is imperative that local councils make efforts to install charging stations.

Charging electric cars at home offer a host of benefits to drivers, from better fuel economy and lower maintenance costs to environmental benefits and the satisfaction of not having to stop for petrol.

Do some areas in the UK seem more ready than others for the EV takeover? Let’s find out.

A capital city for EV charging: London

London leads the way in the UK when it comes to electric vehicle charging points. In fact, London has more electric vehicle charging points than anywhere else in the UK.

The UK is considered a global leader in alternative fuel vehicles, partly due to its commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improving air quality. As a result, there are an increasing number of electric vehicles on the roads across the country.

Luckily for Londoners, within London there are many public charging points and more and more are being installed across different types of infrastructure, including residential streets and public car parks. In order to meet this demand, certain areas of London have been identified as locations for increased deployment of new charging infrastructure. These include:

Areas where there is a high concentration of existing charge points
Areas with high demand for charge points
Areas with high concentrations of rental/residential properties

As to be expected, there are particular London boroughs and areas with the highest concentration of EVs, we’ll dissect these areas in more detail within this blog.

Wandsworth catering for their high number of EV owners

As the economic center of UK, London is leading the charge toward all-electric vehicles, with the goal of achieving the switch by 2030.

Of all the boroughs, Wandsworth has one of the highest populations of EV car owners. Corresponding this is the fact that this borough boasts more public charging points than almost any other local authority in the UK - a leading area in the EV infrastructure field.

As of April 2022, there has been 2,708 EVs registered in Wandsworth and there are currently 304 charging points available per 1,000 EV drivers. With 824 ports now installed, this borough will surpass a total of 1,000 charging points before the end of the year.

This area of London has been commended for continuously expanding the charging options available for those without access to off-street charging. In addition to providing reliable charging for visitors, their comprehensive network supports local businesses and lessens local air pollution related to the people traveling to the borough for work or leisure.

Like most other areas in London, the borough’s charging sockets can be located on lamposts. The reason for this charging location is to reduce clutter on pavements and ensure safety and space is prioritised for pedestrians.

To combat climate change and improve local air quality, Wandsworth has embraced electric vehicle technology. The district is fully committed to supporting the persuasion in getting residents and businesses to switch from combustion engines to greener electric vehicles.

Breaking a record for installing on-street chargers: Westminster

In fourth position of the EV charging network leaderboard is Westminster. A borough whereby 4,298 people own an electric vehicle. To cater for those that rely on public electric charging infrastructure to get around the borough, Westminster is now home to 1,292 charging points - that’s 301 per 1,000 EVs.

Air quality in the City of Westminster is among the worst in the UK, according to data from the World Health Organization. The City of Westminster Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, and since then has been embracing new technology to improve air quality and meet its net zero goals. Installing electric vehicle charging stations is just one of the ways this borough is working to improve air quality.

Westminster was in fact the first borough to deliver over 1,000 on-street public chargers. At various residential and commercial locations in the city, charging points ranging from 3kW to 50kW have been installed to ensure all EV types are covered - maximising the charge of each vehicle. Residents have easier access to environmentally friendly transport solutions with these charging points available to them.

Leading the way towards an electric future outside of London: Coventry

Despite London’s large EV network coverage, other cities are contributing their efforts to transform the country and move towards a greener future.

Coventry is paving the way for an EV-accessible future, implementing more charging points per 1,000 vehicles than many other cities.

Currently, there are 1,537 registered electric vehicles in the Coventry area, meaning that EV owners are never too far from a charging point. The city has also been rated as one of the most sustainable in the nation, taking into account factors including increasing number of renewable energy sites, green spaces, and air pollution rates. With this in mind, it’s clear that Coventry will continue to keep up the pace and become one of the first zero-emission zones in the UK.

Due to the current performance and promising statistics, Coventry will surge by 3,000% in EV use by 2030. In order to meet this target and keep up the demand for public stations, the council of Coventry plans to install 400 additional EV charging points by 2025.

If you’re an electric vehicle owner in Coventry, your future is looking bright.

Which other local authorities are doing their bit to install EV charging points?

In the race against time to make cities as accessible as possible before the looming ban on new petrol and diesel cars, other city councils are running in the competition to making a difference for their residents and visitors.

Milton Keynes: Over the course of 2019-2021, this town lead by example, becoming recognised as one of the best towns to encourage the switch to EVs. In 2021, this town even overtook London when it came to possessing the most charging points per EV owner. It was recognised by Milton Keynes council that over 40% of homes did not have access to off-street parking facilities in September 2021, which is why the installation of public charge points was paramount for this town.

Brighton and Hove: In an area where 1,252 people own and drive electric vehicles, it’s essential to have accessible public charging stations. Brighton and Hove comfortably sit in the top 10 when it comes to ranking cities with the best charging facilities. There are now 279 chargers for every 1,000 drivers, meaning the residents in this area are never too far from a plug.

Gwynedd: North West Wales is known for being highly equipped for drivers looking to switch to EVs in the next few years. Leading the way is the county of Gwynedd. The number of registered EVs in relation to the available public chargers is an impressive ratio - there are currently only 403 registered EVs, but 93 chargepoints have been installed across the county of Gwynedd.

Which regions are falling behind and less prepared for an EV takeover?

On the opposite end of the spectrum are cities and boroughs that are lacking in facilities, meaning that the move towards electric vehicles is proving to be incredibly difficult for residents in those areas.

It comes as a surprise that some of the most highly populated areas of EV drivers are left with little choice but to venture out for public charging points. Slough, and Swindon are areas that have around 70 public chargers each. For all of these boroughs, this is a very low number when there are over 20,000 registered EVs in each of them.

The city of Peterborough has seemingly slowed down progress in installing EV infrastructure - there are only 3 charging points available per 1,000 drivers available in this city. According to Government statistics, there were a total of 70 charging points to cater for the 20584 EV drivers.

Similarly, Stockport in Greater Manchester is dramatically falling behind, having just 37 installed chargers to cater for the 44,274 registered electric vehicles. Surprisingly, Stockport is home to the most EVs in any one local authority, making this low number of charging points a staggering figure.

Joining the list of areas without accessible charging infrastructure, Slough and Swindon have around 70 public chargers each. For both of these boroughs, this is a very low number when there are over 20,000 registered EVs in each of them.

What plans are in place to increase the number of charging stations in the UK?

As it stands, there are fears around whether or not the UK as a whole can cope with the influx of EV chargers in the near future.

The Department for Transport has unveiled its EV Infrastructure Plan to ease the rollout of public chargers for electric cars, which includes a £450m fund that local authorities can use to expand charger infrastructure.

In addition to the local authority fund, the £950 million Rapid Charging Fund will support the installation of 6,000 high-speed chargers across the motorway network, which forms part of the government's previously announced investment package of £1.6 billion.

By 2030, it is expected that drivers will have access to nearly 300,000 public chargers, more than five times the number of fuel pumps in UK petrol stations.

Allstar’s EV network coverage

Here at Allstar, we’ve been making filling up cars for fleets and small to medium sized businesses easier. In addition to cutting costs and reducing administration time, we’ve worked hard to help drivers utilise as many petrol stations as possible.

In recent years, we have partnered with a number of charge point providers to expand our coverage on our EV network - we now have a total of 10 providers on our network.

Currently, customers who use our Allstar One Electric card can access over 5,700 multi-brand charging stations across the country.

We’ve also teamed up with Zap-Map to bring you the best solutions for EV drivers - particularly those that spend their days on the road as part of their work. In order to best support fleet drivers, this integration means that customers using the Allstar One Electric card can make use of the following benefits:

The ability to search for charging stations nearby and gain a full overview of how close in proximity various charge points are - all accessed via one simple and comprehensive app.
A combination of perks provided by both ourselves and Zap-Map that enhances drivers’ journeys and all-round experience.
The ability to view, save and edit routes by planning which electric vehicle charging stations they can use on their journey.

Having these partnerships enables us to create a strategic EV charging network which is fast and convenient and covers the nation fully. Our goal is to continue to expand our network through 2022 and beyond to provide our customers with the most convenient and efficient means of charging their cars.

What is the Allstar One Electric card and how can it help your business?

Driving an electric car doesn't have to be complicated.

At Allstar Business Solutions, we believe in making your life easier by simplifying the way you charge your electric car while on the go. That's why we developed our Allstar One Electric Card, a single card that gets you access to over 5,700 charge points across more than 2,000 locations in the UK.

Use our network of charging stations to get the electricity your vehicle needs, and leave the rest to us. Simply tap your Allstar One Electric card at the beginning of your charge, and you’ll be charged via a HMRC-compliant invoice. You’ll receive one invoice at the end of the month that covers all of your EV charges and traditional fuel, so you don't have to worry about keeping receipts, easing your administrative load.

Allstar gives you access to thousands of charging stations across the country, as well as a streamlined bill-paying process. Contact us today to learn more about our EV charging solutions.