Sunderland named as most prepared city for the rise of electric vehicles

Sunderland has been named as the most prepared city in the UK for the predicted rise in electric vehicles.

Nissan's decision in 2010 to build its electric Leaf model at its Sunderland plant in saw the city and the region as a whole gear up for the vehicles of the future.Now new research by renewable energy supplier Tonik Energy has found that Sunderland is the most prepared city in the UK for the predicted rise in electric vehicles (EVs) on the roads, with its 87 available charging points equating to 1,460 license holders per charger.

Plans for the UK's first fast charging station for electric vehicles in Sunderland were announced in April.

The rest of the top three was completed with Milton Keynes (1,487) and Dundee (1,635) following closely behind.The figures compared the number of full driving license holders in each UK postcode area to the number of publicly available charging points according to online charging point platform Zap-Map in each location, to determine which areas of the UK were most ready for the EV revolution in the next couple of years.

The costs of running this type of vehicle set to equate to the same cost of running a standard internal combustion engine car by 2021, and they have become pivotal to plans for reducing CO2 emissions.

At the other end of the spectrum, Portsmouth was found to be the city least ready for the impending rise of EVs on the roads, with just 11 public charging points available to cater for the more than half a million drivers in the PO postcode area, working out to about one charger per 32,288 license holders.

Chris Russell, managing director at Tonik Energy, said: “With the cost of electric vehicles falling all the time and the rise in UK residents wanting to make their lives as ethical and eco-friendly as possible, we are already noticing a significant rise in attention towards EVs. Given the estimation that the cost of running an EV will match that of a standard car in the next couple of years, we only envisage demand to rise further. “It’s great to see areas such as Sunderland paving the way for the rise in EVs on our roads, this is a great example of how local councils can prepare for the increase in the amount of EVs on our roads.“One of the main barriers to purchasing one of these vehicles is the fear of running out of charge on a long journey so it’s crucial that all councils recognise the need to invest in publicly available charging points.”The top ten most prepared cities - based on the number of license holders per charger - were as follows:Sunderland - 1,460 license holders per chargerMilton Keynes - 1,487 license holders per chargerDundee - 1,635 license holders per chargerGreater London - 2,227 license holders per chargerManchester - 2,822 license holders per chargerOxford - 3,620 license holders per chargerLeeds - 3,734 license holders per chargerCambridge - 4,472 license holders per chargerNottingham - 4,660 license holders per chargerGlasgow - 4,808 license holders per chargerThe ten least prepared cities - based on the number of license holders per charger - were as follows:Portsmouth - 32,288 license holders per chargerShrewsbury - 20,698 license holders per chargerDerby - 17,037 license holders per chargerStoke-on-Trent - 17,000 license holders per chargerCardiff - 16,379 license holders per chargerSheffield - 14,555 license holders per chargerHull - 14,284 license holders per chargerGloucester - 14,052 license holders per chargerBirmingham - 11,984 license holders per chargerExeter - 10,613 license holders per chargerTo see a full list of UK rankings from this research, visit:https://www.tonikenergy.com/blog/is-your-city-ready-for-electric-vehicles/