There will soon be more public locations to charge electric cars in the UK than there are filling stations for conventional vehicles according to new analysis by Nissan.
At the end of 2015, there were just 8,472 fuel stations in the UK, down from 37,539 in 1970—a 77% drop. Assuming a steady rate of decline, Nissan predicts that by August 2020 this will fall to below 7,870.
The supply of fuel within London is also becoming scarcer. Central London has nearly half as many gasoline stations per car as the Scottish Highlands; only four remain within the congestion-charge zone. A notable closure in 2008 was one of the country’s oldest forecourts, the Bloomsbury Service Station, which had been operational since 1926.
In contrast, the number of public electric vehicle charging locations is expected to reach 7,900 by the same point in time. However, the accelerating adoption of electric vehicles means this crossover could happen sooner.
The number of electric vehicle charging locations has increased from a few hundred in 2011 to more than 4,100 locations in 2016, as electric car sales take off.
According to Go Ultra Low, the joint government and car industry campaign, more than 115 electric cars were registered every day in the first quarter of 2016—equivalent to one every 13 minutes. The campaign also believes electric power could be the dominant form of propulsion for all new cars sold in the UK as early as 2027, with more than 1.3 million electric cars registered.
