How prepared is the UK to make the transition from fossil fueled cars to electric?

Go back a decade or so and the thought of driving around in an electric car is something we could have never imagined.

As technology advances and the demand for countries across the globe to lower their yearly carbon emissions intensifies, it’s now almost certain that all UK drivers will be the owner of an electric vehicle sometime in the distant future.

With the UK government recently announcing that the production of petrol and diesel vehicles will be stopped after 2030, it has meant that car manufacturers are now having to put the wheels in motion to prepare for the introduction of electric vehicles sooner than what they may have imagined. Something which numerous manufacturers have already started to make the transition to, such as Tesla and Lexus.

Over recent years, it has become a familiar sight to see electric vehicles on UK roads and the government has already started taking steps towards encouraging more drivers to make the switch. Electric charging points used to be hard to come by only a number of years ago, but now they can be found at shopping centres, supermarkets and office parks.

To understand the current situation in the UK when it comes to the number of electric vehicles on our roads and just how many charging points there are in each region of the country, LeaseCar UK uncovered some revealing data. The research they discovered can be found in their ‘electric vehicle league table’, but we thought we’d share some of the data with you.

Number of licensed plug-in cars in each UK region

The research carried out by LeaseCar UK is based on a population of 100,000. In terms of the number of licensed plug-in vehicles to date, it’s the West Midlands who currently has the most, with 716 per 100,000. Closely followed behind the West Midlands is the South East (682) and South West (616). Not all regions have such encouraging numbers though, as the North East has 176, as well as the North West slightly in front with 207.

Number of rapid charging devices in each region 

You may be led to believe that because the West Midlands has the highest number of licensed plug-in vehicles, that this would be reflected in terms of the number of rapid charging devices, but this isn’t the case. The South East is currently leading the way with 5.82 per 100,00, followed by the South West (4.96) and London (4.91). At the bottom end of the league table are regions including the East of England (3.40), North West (4.07) and East Midlands (4.43).

It’s interesting to see just how many registered electric vehicles there currently are in the UK, compared to the number of rapid charging devices. It would be great to hear your thoughts on the data and what you think about driving an electric vehicle in the future. Join in the conversation on social, using #EVLeague.