A lack of charging infrastructure across the country is creating a North-South divide for electric vehicles.
More electric cars were registered in the UK in 2021 than during the previous five years, but 20% of those sold were in London and the South East, while Wales and northern England accounted for less than 10%.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the lack of on-street charging was to blame, restricting sales to wealthy people with driveways.
Mike Hawes, SMMT’s chief executive, said the large regional disparities in the availability of street chargers needed to be addressed in the “medium term”. If not, it could deter buyers and hamper prime minister Boris Johnson’s levelling up agenda.
London has far more public charging points per person than anywhere else in the UK. According to the latest government figures from October, there are 87 charge points per 100,000 people in the capital, almost double the next closest region in England.
