So much for the electric car revolution! The number of public chargers is falling in SIX counties in England
- Figures from the Department for Transport also show a decline in Northern Ireland
The number of car chargers has fallen in six English counties as the electric car trend falters.
Gloucestershire, Devon, Kent, Norfolk, West Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear now have fewer public charging points than at the start of summer.
Figures released yesterday by the Department for Transport also show a decline in Northern Ireland.
This suggests that some regions are lagging behind in the transition to electric vehicles and that Rishi Sunak was right when he postponed a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars until 2035.
The Prime Minister announced the move in September, marking a victory for the Rethink The 2030 Petrol Car Ban mail campaign, but it is believed to have come too late to influence charging figures.
The number of car chargers has fallen in six English counties as the electric car trend falters (Image)
Data shows the number of street chargers in Tyne and Wear fell by 12 per cent (725 to 636) between July 1 and October 1. In Kent they fell from 837 to 823, in Devon from 539 to 528 and in Gloucestershire from 278 to 273.
The fall was from 981 to 979 in West Yorkshire, from 595 to 594 in Norfolk and from 433 to 431 in Northern Ireland.
It’s the first decline in most of these areas since 2019 and is most likely due to companies shutting down financially unviable chargers.
There are now fewer public charging points in Gloucestershire, Devon, Kent, Norfolk, West Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear than at the start of summer (stock image)
This suggests that some regions are lagging behind in the transition to electric vehicles and that Rishi Sunak (pictured) was right when he postponed a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars until 2035
This came after a 14.3 percent decline in electric car sales to private buyers in September compared to the same month in 2022.
Of the 42,489 public chargers in England, only 5,992 are in rural areas. In contrast, the number in London rose by 27 percent, from 13,371 to 16,963.
Howard Cox, of motoring group FairFuelUK, described the decline in chargers as “regrettable”.
The DfT said there had been a “solid year-on-year increase” in the number of chargers across the six counties and Northern Ireland so far, and a 42 per cent rise nationally since October 2022.