A study has revealed the best UK town prepared to make the switch to electric vehicles, offering 98% free EV charging points to drivers and one of the fastest charging times in the UK.
Dudley, West Midlands, came out on top in the study by Independent Advisor Car Insurance, with a quick charing time of 2 hours 29 minutes.
The car insurance experts created an index to analyse factors potentially influencing drivers when switching to EVs, such as free and paid EV charger availability, EV registrations and charging times across towns and cities in the UK, to reveal where drivers have the best chance at going electric.
The 10 Most Incentivised UK Towns and Cities for EV Ownership
|
Rank |
Town / City |
Number of People per Charger |
Average Power Output of EV Chargers (kW)* |
Estimated Charging Time |
% Of Free EV Charging Points |
EV Readiness Score (/10) |
|
1 |
Dudley |
2,398 |
40 |
2 hours 29 minutes |
98% |
8.13 |
|
2 |
Nottingham |
1,135 |
20 |
4 hours 34 minutes |
98% |
7.87 |
|
3 |
Slough |
2,824 |
56 |
3 hours 15 minutes |
95% |
7.70 |
|
4 |
York |
818 |
41 |
3 hours 38 minutes |
89% |
7.67 |
|
5 |
Bedford |
677 |
18 |
4 hours 49 minutes |
98% |
7.53 |
|
=6 |
Dundee |
1,507 |
22 |
2 hours 47 minutes |
95% |
7.33 |
|
=6 |
Derby |
1,258 |
30 |
3 hours 39 minutes |
96% |
7.33 |
|
8 |
Milton Keynes |
497 |
20 |
4 hours 21 minutes |
97% |
7.22 |
|
9 |
Basildon |
9,657 |
83 |
3 hours 32 minutes |
93% |
7.16 |
|
10 |
Peterborough |
3,713 |
56 |
3 hours 27 minutes |
86% |
6.99 |
*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. Please see the full dataset here.
Dudley was the best town in the UK to switch to electric, with a final EV readiness score of 8.13 out of 10. While 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 among 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 was Nottingham, with a final score of 7.87 out of 10. Despite lengthy average charging times for EVs, the city was among 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 98% of free charging points.
Slough’s average power output of chargers, and over one hour quicker charging time than Nottingham placed it as the third best city for EV ownership. The high percentage of free charging points distribution (95%) also made up for its disappointing spread of charger availability (2,824 per charger).
