The UK is lagging behind European leaders in its electric vehicle preparation despite having the third most EVs in the continent, research from LeasePlan has found.

The 2019 edition of its annual EV Readiness Index has revealed the UK has lost its 2018 position within the top five, dropping down to seventh, as Germany, Sweden and Austrian are now more prepared for mass EV adoption.

The index analyses the preparedness of 22 European countries for EVs. It is based on four factors: the maturity of the EV market (including plug-in hybrids), the maturity of EV infrastructure, government incentives and LeasePlan’s experience with EVs in each country. 

Steve Jones, strategy and transformation director at LeasePlan UK, said: “The UK has been making great progress in its electric vehicle strategy, but it unfortunately lacks the momentum countries like Norway and the Netherlands have.

“If we hope to keep up with the rest of Europe, then urgent action needs to be taken to speed up the rollout of charging infrastructure, increase Government tax incentives as well as boost the number of EV models available.

“Without improvement on all three of these elements, the UK will continue to slip further down the rankings

“Given how quickly the nature of mobility is changing, more regular and short-term reviews are necessary to ensure the UK’s strategy is aligned to how consumers and businesses are utilising transport services.

“The Road to Zero strategy is a good starting point, but as a nation we need to be bolder in our plans to reduce carbon emissions and prepare for the future of transport.”

The UK is fifth in terms of deployment of charging infrastructure (18,158), behind the Netherlands (83,196), Germany (37,405) and France (34,558).

The top three countries with the highest charging plugs per population ratio were the Netherlands (4.8 charging plugs per 1,000 inhabitants), Norway (4.5) and Luxembourg (1.9). In comparison, the UK only has 0.27 charging plugs per 1,000 inhabitants.

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