The UK's top 20 EV deserts: FOI data reveals that rural and disadvantaged areas in the north of England and Scotland have been unplugged from the nation's electric car revolution

• An investigation by climate solutions charity, One Home, shows that EV deserts are emerging in the English postcode areas of Halifax, Sunderland, Hereford, Dorchester and Blackpool, all which have the country’s lowest number of registered electric cars.
• DVLA stats show that nine postcode areas in Scotland and Wales have also been identified as EV deserts, having the fewest number of registered pure electric cars in the United Kingdom.
• Meanwhile, Stockport is the UK’s most plugged-in postcode area with almost 98,000 electric cars registered.
• West London is the capital’s electric vehicle hotspot with over 32,000 registered pure electric cars on its streets – home to over 40% of the city’s total EV car population.
• One Home CEO is calling on the UK Government to cancel or delay the planned road tax for EVs in 2025 insisting it will widen the gap in ownership.

(24 September, 2024) An investigation by climate solutions charity, One Home, has today uncovered stark disparities in the ownership of pure electric cars across the United Kingdom, and warns that ‘EV deserts’ are being created in less affluent parts of northern England along with rural areas in Scotland and Wales.

In a list of the UK’s top 20 EV deserts* – compiled from Freedom of Information (FOI) data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) outlining the number of pure electric cars registered to every single postcode area of the UK – Hebrides (HS) and Lerwick (ZE) in Scotland are in first and second place having the fewest with 133 and 168 respectively, followed by Wales’ Llandrindod Wells (LD) in third place with just 368. Overall, of the 1.12million registered pure electric cars in the UK, only 66,912 (6%) are registered to Scottish postcode areas.

Whilst the lowest ownership figures can be attributed to lower population density, English postcode areas covering larger towns and cities also feature extensively in the list.

At number seven is Halifax (HX), officially England’s worst EV desert. Home to towns Mytholmroyd and Rishworth, it has just 1,265 registered EV cars and is followed by Sunderland (SR) in eighth place – home to Seaham and Peterlee – with 1,593 registered electric cars.

Hereford’s postcode area (HR) – which includes Leominster and Ross-on-Wye – is in ninth place with just 1,857 registered electric cars.

Furthermore, of the top 20 areas with the fewest registered electric cars, 75% are in Scotland and the North of England, including Blackpool (FH), England’s most deprived local authority**, in 13th place with 2,244 registered electric cars.

Meanwhile, in a list of the UK’s top twenty EV hotspots, the Stockport (SK) postcode area is revealed to be in first place with almost 98,000 pure electric cars registered within its boundaries – more than any other UK location.

The area – which includes parts of Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire – is followed by the Slough (SL) postcode area in second place, home to Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead, with over 91,000 electric cars and the Swindon postcode area (SN) in third place which counts 51,733 electric cars within its boundaries. Many of these will be registered to fleet companies.

‘G’, Glasgow’s postcode area, home to Dunbarton, Clyde Bank and East Kilbride, is in tenth place with 20,186 registered pure electric cars – the only Scottish location to feature in the top ten.

In the capital West London’s famous ‘W’ postcode – home to the well-heeled neighbourhoods of Kensington and Notting Hill – is officially the city’s electric vehicle hotspot with over 32,000 registered pure electric cars on its streets.

This means the West London postcode area is home to over 40% of the city’s total EV car population, which stands at 74,773. The EC and WC postcode areas have the fewest at 951 and 414 EVs, respectively.

FOI data also reveals that the number of pure EV cars on UK roads has increased by almost 15% since 2023***, now surpassing the one million milestone in 2024 – with a total of 1,121,001 electric cars registered within the country as of 11 August of this year*.

One Home CEO and leading environmental scientist, Angela Terry said: “The good news is that electric cars are rapidly gaining in popularity with numbers on UK roads surpassing the one million mark in 2024. As new car sales increase, second-hand market prices are becoming more affordable.

However, it’s concerning to see a widening chasm between levels of electric car ownership in rural areas and in disadvantaged towns and villages, particularly in the north of England and Scotland, compared to more affluent areas in the south.

Electric vehicles must not become the preserve of the wealthy. They are cheaper to run than petrol or diesel cars, and everyone should be entitled to make lifestyle changes which improve levels of air pollution on the streets where they live and reduce their carbon footprint.

I am calling on the Chancellor to scrap or, at the very least, delay plans to impose road tax on electric vehicles in 2025 at the upcoming Budget. Removal of incentives to buy electric cars is absolutely ludicrous and signals a major step backwards for the UK, given the transport sector is still the biggest contributor to our country’s carbon dioxide emissions overall.

EV sales need to increase, not decrease, and drivers, particularly those in less affluent areas, should be helped to make the switch rather than have further financial obstacles placed in their path.”

One Home is a UK charity which aims to help households adapt to a low cost, low carbon lifestyle and provides impartial information and advice on practical solutions that improve people’s lives whilst saving money and reducing carbon emissions. For more information, visit One Home, or download the charity’s energy saving guide.

-ENDS-

*DVLA data obtained through a Freedom of Information request details the amount of pure electric cars registered to every postcode area in the UK – correct as of 11 August 2024, the latest DVLA data available.

**Blackpool is cited as being the most deprived local authority based on rank and score in the The English Indices of Deprivation 2019 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

***Increase from 978,387 pure EVs (BEVs) at end of 2023, compared to 1,121,001 on 11 August 2024 = increase of 14.5% (2023 figures sourced from Zap Map)

Notes to editors

For more information please contact:

Sam Carlisle at sam.carlisle@causecommunications.co.uk or Jenna Sloan at jenna.sloan@causecommunications.co.uk

About Angela Terry

One Home was founded by Angela Terry MSc MEI, an environmental scientist with over 20 years’ experience in the renewables industry. Angela set up One Home to raise awareness of positive climate solutions and help UK households to adapt to a low cost, low carbon lifestyle. Angela was a pioneer of community energy in the UK as Development Director for Energy4All. She was also Head of Wood Fuel for the Forestry Commission, Policy Manager for RES, and a carbon scientist in New Zealand.

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