While EVs seem to be becoming more popular, and a number of areas become more accommodating to the vehicles themselves, many motorists continue to express concerns over the practicalities. The cost of the transition is another factor increasingly being noted by drivers, particularly following a period of very high utility prices, which impacted heavily on EV affordability. London and Nottingham named top EV cities London has been identified as the UK city furthest ahead on the EV switch, according to a new study from used car marketplace Motorway, closely followed by Nottingham. The study examined EV sales data by region, charging point availability and clean air policies of cities and towns across the UK to come up with the rankings. The 10 electric car cities and towns were as follows: London Nottingham 58 AFTERMARKET JUNE 2023 EVS AND HYBRIDS www.aftermarketonline.net CHARGING AHEAD ON EVS? The growing popularity of EVs is being mirrored by increasing concerns from some motorists on their practicality Bedford Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne Milton Keynes Bristol Oxford Coventry Southampton The list does not show the whole picture though. London leads on EV adoption, and has 8,600 public charging points, but when it comes to charger availability actually comes 15th, with the ratio of chargers to people at 1 to 1,672. While they did not make the top 10, Hounslow and Brighton were identified as having the most advanced charging infrastructure and the best person-to-charger ratio. Commenting on the list, Motorway Co-Founder Alex Buttle said: “While I’m sure most car owners are considering making the transition to an EV at some point, there are several factors at play in the decision. One of those factors is whether or not you live in a city or town which has sufficient charging point infrastructure. We’ve created this comprehensive index to help car owners understand which areas and cities are truly leading the charge when it comes to EV-friendliness. As we look ahead to 2030, we’d love to see this list become more competitive, making it easier and more affordable than ever for car owners to make the switch.” To view the full study, visit: https://motorway.co.uk/best-evcities 32% fear EVs will price them off the road 32% of motorists fear they could be priced off the road by the shift to EVs because they will not be able to afford an electric car, a survey of 2,000 motorists has suggested. The Opinium survey, commissioned by InsuretheGap.com, also found that 37% think the government subsidy for EVs should be reinstated. 26% would like to buy an electric car for environmental reasons, but 20% say they like driving with gears and thus do not want an EV. Over 65s, at 25% are the most likely to want to stick with gears, while under-34s at 15% are less bothered. 5% believe driving
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