The best places to charge electric vehicles in the UK

As more motorists get behind the wheel of an EV, the business services provider Direct365 has revealed the best cities to charge an electric car in the UK.

The company looked at 17,836 public chargers, found in car parks, workplaces and shops, across 485 cities, towns and villages.

Karl Bantleman from Direct365 explained how the network of chargers needs to be capable of supporting the growing number of EVs on the roads.

He said: “It has been identified that much more investment into charging infrastructure and technology advancements is required in order for the UK Government to meet their ambitious goal to ban the sale of new ICE by 2030.

“However, although we have currently only met six percent of our goal to have 300,000 chargers by the end of the decade, current owners and those considering the switch to EV should not be put off.”

According to Direct365, London has the most public chargers in the UK by a considerable margin, with 7,000 overall.

Over 6,000 of these are found on the streets, whilst 237 were located in public car parks and a further 20 were found at NHS hospitals. 

The second-best place for charging an EV in the UK is Coventry, where 49 percent of the areas 831 chargers are free to use.  

Nottingham came third in the study, with the city being home to 344 vehicle chargers and the highest amount at park and ride stations. 

Direct365 also highlighted that Tesco has more EV chargers than any other business in the UK, having a 43 percent share in the country’s retail chargers at 774.

On the whole, supermarkets have the most retail electric vehicle chargers, however the hotel chain Premier Inn also holds three percent of the figures.

Karl highlighted the importance of making sure our cities are prepared for the rising number of electric vehicles. 

He said: “One thing’s for certain and that is that one day in the not-so-distant future, EV vehicles will dominate our roads, whether this be through choice or by law.

“Therefore, in preparing for an electric future, councils and businesses should continue to invest in infrastructure, while consumers also invest in at-home chargers to assist in a steady transition.”