EV growth in the UK is on a continuous increase, but which cities are putting in the most work to install EV infrastructure and push the green revolution forwards?
A team at DriveElectric have examined “green areas, electric vehicles, energy consumption, CO2 emissions” in relation to other factors to calculate which UK areas are the greenest. By doing this the team were able to track where in the UK has invested in EV infrastructure and greener travel.
Investing in greener transport
January 2023 saw 893 public charging devices for electric vehicles per 100,000 people in Westminster, putting it at the top of the list for green locations in the UK. Compared to 425 devices in January 2022, Westminster has seen a 60% increase in EV infrastructure.
Westminster has seen a 60% increase in EV infrastructure
According to DriveElectic, this means that there are now 1,832 public charging devices in total within the borough, compared to 1,147 the previous year, an increase of 110%.
Next is the London borough of Kensington & Chelsea, where there are currently 522 public charging devices per 100,000 people. This is compared to 419 devices in January 2022, which shows an increase of 14%. This means that there are now 752 public charging devices for electric vehicles in total within the area, compared to 658 devices the previous year, showing an increase of 25%.
The areas with the most public charging devices for electric vehicles ranked
| Rank | Local Authority | Region | Jan-22 | Jan-23 | Difference | Jan-22 | Jan-23 | Difference |
| 1 | Westminster | Inner London | 1,147 | 1,832 | 60% | 425 | 893 | 110% |
| 2 | Kensington and Chelsea | Inner London | 658 | 752 | 14% | 419 | 522 | 25% |
| 3 | Hammersmith and Fulham | Inner London | 598 | 624 | 4% | 326 | 340 | 4% |
| 4 | Coventry | West Midlands (Metropolitan County) | 485 | 903 | 86% | 128 | 263 | 106% |
| 5 | Southwark | Inner London | 438 | 796 | 82% | 137 | 260 | 90% |
| 6 | Wandsworth | Inner London | 634 | 852 | 34% | 192 | 259 | 35% |
| 7 | Richmond upon Thames | Outer London | 350 | 446 | 27% | 177 | 228 | 29% |
| 8 | Orkney Islands | Scotland | 40 | 50 | 25% | 179 | 222 | 24% |
| 9 | Islington | Inner London | 309 | 389 | 26% | 125 | 179 | 44% |
| 10 | Na h-Eileanan Siar | Scotland | 28 | 47 | 68% | 106 | 176 | 67% |
How will the UK government help support EV growth?
The UK Government has promised further support for areas looking to speed up their EV transition.
“The transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) will help the UK to meet our legally binding climate change targets. It will improve air quality in our towns and cities and support economic growth. It will also put us at the forefront of the electric vehicle (EV) revolution with many vehicles built in the UK.”
“Building on the £1.9 billion from the Spending Review 2020, the government has committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to EVs.”
Finding the greenest areas of the UK
For the main ranking, the team ranked the following six factors:
- Number of licensed EVs
- Number of licensed ICE vehicles
- Number of public charging devices
- CO2 emissions
- Number of green spaces
- Overall score
The team gave each a normalized score out of 10 for each factor before taking a final overall score as an average across all six factors.
With green areas being more desirable, there is a need for more UK areas to level up their green agenda and begin catering to the green revolution through an increase in green space and EV infrastructure.
