Hastings and Brighton in table of least electric car friendly towns and cities

Hastings and Brighton figure in a top ten table of the least electric car friendly UK towns and cities.
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Analysing the towns and cities that are best placed to create a substantial home charging network, Motorway.co.uk assessed the percentage of homes currently on the market in major towns and cities with private, off-street parking, enabling households to easily install an electric charge point and power up their vehicles at home.

Motorway.co.uk said it used new properties for sale data as a gauge of total and type of housing stock, to reveal the areas with the biggest opportunities and challenges for home charging.

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The Government has said it wants all petrol and diesel cars off UK roads by 2040 to be replaced by more environmentally-friendly electric cars.

For that to happen, motorists need to be able to charge their electric vehicles easily and cheaply.

However, a recent survey of car owners by Motorway.co.uk revealed that more than half (52%) said they weren’t planning to switch to electric any time soon because of the UK’s inadequate charging infrastructure.

Hastings is third and Brighton fifth in the table for least electric car friendly towns and cities, with the lowest percentage of properties with private, off-street parking.

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Alex Buttle, director of car buying comparison website Motorway.co.uk commented: “The physical shape of Britain’s housing stock could put a spanner in the works of the Government’s electric switch over plans. Although many car owners can expect to have access to on-street charging stations, there’s no guarantee there will be enough to go around.

“Most people will want the convenience of charging their car at home rather than having to walk to a main road to pick up their vehicle. Home charging is usually fine if you have a detached or semi-detached house with a driveway, but what about the millions of people who live in flats and terraced houses with no private, off-street parking?

“As the country moves closer to the 2040 Government deadline proposed for a UK-wide diesel and petrol vehicle ban, the need for an electric car charging infrastructure becomes ever-more critical. We are talking about more than 30 million new power-hungry electric cars on the road by then if the switch over happens as expected.

“The big question that needs to be answered is how will most people be able to charge their vehicles at home? In some towns, the type of property stock will make it a lot easier to create a home charging infrastructure, but the challenge will be in urban areas with a high density of flats such as London, where off-street parking is limited.

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“If the UK needs more on-street charging stations, that is a cost that cash-strapped councils will need to meet. Will there really be enough funds available to power a shared charging network for 30 million cars by 2040?”