A combination of improving technology, cheaper prices, fuel shortages and the upcoming ban on petrol and diesel vehicles has seen electric vehicle sales reach record highs in the UK this year.
But the FOI requests sent to 374 local councils in the UK from chargepoint firm DevicePilot shows they are not expanding infrastructure to meet the increased demand. Furthermore, investment has been uneven across the country, with some parts making sizable contributions towards EV infrastructure while others have spent nothing or received no government funding to do so.
For example, the FOI requests showed that London councils spent more than double the national average on EV charging in 2021 (£204k) and they are planning to install 39 new chargers per 100,000 people in 2022, compared to a national average of just 9 per 100,000 people.
One response from a council in the North West, deemed typical by DevicePilot, explained that over £100m in budget reductions from...