On-street electric vehicle charging wanted on 11,500 streets

Vauxhall has revealed where demand exists for residential on-street electric vehicle (EV) charge points.

Based on public submissions to Vauxhall’s Electric Streets of Britain campaign, launched in 2023, some 13,000 motorists living on more than 11,500 streets across the country have called for councils to install much-needed infrastructure.

Vauxhall’s campaign aims to support the 40% of households without access to a driveway, while data shows that 80% of EV charging is done at home.

The manufacturer will be working with its three Electric Streets charge point operator partners – Chargy, Connected Kerb and Surecharge – to utilise the data it has received and share it with local councils to help them to identify the charging solutions required for their local residents.

Vauxhall will also share regular updates with drivers who registered through the Electric Streets of Britain database.

James Taylor, managing director of Vauxhall, said: “On-street residential charging is critical to the adoption and acceleration of electric vehicles.

“Thanks to the public, we already know of over 11,000 roads where we need to install on-street chargers today to make it more convenient for EV drivers and remove a barrier for those wanting to switch to electric.”

Half of councils do not have on-street residential charging strategy

A new Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Vauxhall also found that 56.5% of the 267 local authorities who responded still do not have a published on-street residential charging strategy in place.

Although this figure has improved by almost 15% since 2023 (72% of UK councils), the data reflects the work still to be done, to reach the required levels of accessible charging needed to match electric vehicle demand.

Vauxhall’s new on-street charging demand map highlights the areas where infrastructure demand is highest.

It shows the disparity in infrastructure levels across the country with a larger number of registrations found in the north of England compared to the south, with Leeds, Glasgow and Sheffield all included among the local authorities recording the biggest level of demand.

The 267 councils who responded to the new FOI told Vauxhall that together they have collectively installed over 15,000 on-street chargers currently on UK roads, and plan to install a further 8,000 over the next year.

However, 14 of the top 20 councils by number of on-street chargers installed so far, and 10 of the 20 councils to have seen the biggest increase in on-street charge point numbers year-on-year, are based in the capital highlighting the need for a greater distribution nationally.

London Boroughs of Southwark and Barnet lead the way, making up 20% of the share of total on-street charge points in the UK installed between them.

Coventry City Council lists third, the highest administration outside the capital, with 1,340 on-street chargers recorded – a growth of 40% compared to figures provided to Vauxhall in 2023.

Local Authorities with most public demand for on-street electric vehicle charging

Source: Vauxhall