Rural drivers are suffering from a lack of electric car chargers as they have to travel 13 times further than drivers in London to reach one, a report says

Electric car owners in rural areas have to travel thirteen times further for a charging station than drivers in London, according to a new report.

In rural England there is only one electric car charging point per ten kilometers of road, compared to one charging point every three quarters of a mile in the capital.

The research found large differences in the frequency of electrical outlets in rural areas compared to cities.

And in March this year, just 2 per cent of vehicles registered in these areas were plug-in electric vehicles – the lowest proportion in England.

This means rural drivers have to drive further to find a connection, making electric vehicles less practical for many.

Electric car owners in rural areas have to drive thirteen times further for a charging station than drivers in London, according to a new report (stock image)

Although drivers in rural areas are more likely to have space at home to install a charger, they will have to pay up to £1,500 to do so.

The County Councils Network report sparked fresh concerns that some regions are lagging behind in the transition to electric vehicles.

The number of plug-in vehicles in rural counties has increased dramatically over the past five years, from 70,337 in 2019 to 385,761 in March 2023.

However, with over 18 million vehicles traveling in these areas, this represents only 2.1 percent of the total vehicles purchased.

At 4.6 percent, this is significantly less than in London.

That being said, municipalities covering predominantly rural areas have only deployed 5,500 additional publicly accessible chargers in the last two years, bringing the total to 13,300.

This means there is only one outlet per 9.5 miles in these regions.

However, in London there is a charger every 0.7 miles and in the 25 largest cities in England there is one every 3.7 miles.

In London there is a charger every 0.7 miles and in England’s 25 largest cities there is one every 3.7 miles (stock image)

The government has committed to rolling out 300,000 public chargers across the UK by 2030. However, as of July this year only 37,717 had been built in England.

Around 43 new chargers come into operation every day, counting the chargers supplied by municipalities and the private sector.

To reach the goal of 300,000, about 110 need to be built every day.

Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak postponed the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035 after the Mail promoted it.

CCN climate spokesman Sam Corcoran said: “As this analysis shows, while huge improvements have been made, much more needs to be done across county areas.” [to install chargers].’

The Ministry of Transport has been contacted for comment.