Electric cars hit by north-south charging divide

Britain’s electric car revolution has been held back by a lack of vital infrastructure, with London boasting nearly a third of all charging points.

Of the 36,752 public charging points available in the UK, 11,515 or just over 31 per cent were in Greater London compared to 1,106 in the North East, the latest figures show.

And one borough in central London has more charging points than six of Britain’s largest regional cities combined.

Westminster, with nearly 1,500 devices, has more than the 1,412 available in Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham.

As the UK aims to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, the government aims to have 300,000 public charging points by the end of the decade.

The Policy Exchange think tank estimated that the UK would need to install 35,000 chargers a year – instead of 7,000 – to meet such a target.

But fears are growing that this target will be missed as attention focuses on London and the well-to-do at the expense of the rest of the country.

Policy Exchange senior fellow Alex Simakov warned that the “greater risk” is a split market, “with expanded charging connections in our largest cities while rural areas lag behind.”

Sarah Lee, policy director at the Countryside Alliance, said: ‘While the impression from a central London perspective may be that the rest of the country is ready to transition to electricity, the reality in rural areas is far from it due to a lack of charging points .’

Meanwhile, Tory MP Jake Berry, a former party chairman, called on the government to “make policy for the nation, not just SW1.”

He recently asked: ‘Charging your £100,000 Tesla is fine in your £500,000 house with a ride in Surrey. Can someone tell me how to do that in a row of townhouses up north?’

But Auto Trader commercial director Ian Plummer said the big difference in charging points had more to do with a wealth distribution than a ‘north versus south’ split.

He said: ‘While electric vehicle drivers can save £124 in running costs per 1,000 miles, the barrier remains high initial costs and a lack of affordable models compared to petrol or diesel cars, so there’s a lot more uptake in more affluent cars . areas.’