Aftermarket May 2022

A few weeks ago, the government announced its Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy, through which it intends to have 300,000 public EV charge points in the UK by 2030, which showed how far the country needs to go to achieve mass accessibility. While infrastructure still lags behind, the sector has continued to ramp up in this area to meet growing demand. Scotland is the UK country with the most EV chargers in the UK, leaving England and Wales tailing behind, according to a new study. Based on figures from the Department for Transport, LeaseElectricCar .co.uk has ranked UK regions based on EV chargers: Region Public charging devices per 100,000 of population England 43 North East 36 North West 24 Yorkshire and the Humber 26 East Midlands 32 West Midlands 31 East of England 29 London 102 South East 39 South West 35 Wales 33 Scotland 52 Northern Ireland 18 In January 2022, there were 28,375 public electric vehicle charge points across the UK. In July 2021 there were 24,374. Over the last 12 months the number of public chargepoints increased by 37%, or a total of 7,600 across the UK. In the same period, the number of rapid charge points grew by a third, equating to 1,276 devices. While the number of charge points is increasing, London 60 AFTERMARKET MAY 2022 TECHNICAL/EVS AND HYBRIDS www.aftermarketonline.net Announcements on infrastructure framed the conversation over the last month, as the aftermarket continued to get to grips with EVs currently has the highest concentration of public charge points with 102 per 100,000 of the population. The story is different when it comes to rapid chargers with 12.9 rapid chargers per 100,000 people in Scotland against eight in London. A spokesperson for LeaseElectricCar .co.uk said: “It is clear from the data that there has been growth in every part of the country and when we look back at the previous years it’s hard to see this changing. “It is no surprise that London comes out top of the list when it comes to the sheer number of charging devices, but Scotland looks well on its way, with a higher number of rapid chargers per 100,000 than the capital.” LeaseElectricCar .co.uk ’s spokesman added: “The electric car market is booming but this means that there is a requirement at a local level for an increased amount of electric chargers to account for this growth.” To see the data, plese go to: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electric-vehicle- charging-device-statistics-january-2022/electric- vehicle-charging-device-statistics-january-2022 Motorists accelerate towards EVs 67% of motorists are looking to switch from petrol and diesel cars to EVs, according to a new survey, and they will not be looking to keep an internal combustion engine car on standby either. The UK YouGov survey commissioned by Bridgestone also found that 56% cite the environmental positives of switching over, with 47% expecting to making fuel savings. 23% gave the tax benefit as a reason for the switch, while 13% are looking forward to a reduction in noise emissions as their primary reason. 43% are also interested to know more about EV maintenance. Commenting on the survey, Bridgestone North Region BUILDING BETTER WORLDS?