Electric vehicles have been quickly growing in popularity over recent years but the infrastructure to allow drivers to charge them hasn’t always been able to keep up. However, a new study has shown that things are changing, and Leeds is leading the way.
With fuel prices skyrocketing, there has been a surge in people investing in electric and hybrid vehicles in the last year. Although most recent estimations vary dramatically, what’s clear is that there are more electric and hybrid vehicles on the road than ever before.
Moving with the times
Government data published back in May showed that there are now over 250,000 electric vehicles on UK roads and sales of plug-in vehicles have reached an all-time high, with 327,000 registered last year alone – a 77% rise compared to 2020.
Despite this clear increase in electric vehicle ownership, with energy costs rising there are concerns that running an electric vehicle is set to cost more than people anticipated. But only time will tell whether high fuel costs or high electric costs will prevail and what this will mean for the electric vehicle market.
Leeds: the best place for an electric car
As part of their UK Car Parking Index, Select Car Leasing has identified the best places to park your car according to various merits such as, electric charging facilities, the number of disabled spaces, average cost of a day’s parking and ease of finding a parking space.
Despite being ranked eighth overall out of 12 cities, Leeds scored a perfect 10 out of 10 for its abundance of electric vehicle charging points: 105 to be precise. Disappointingly, nearby Sheffield came last with only eight electric vehicle charging points located within official city centre car parks.
Taking all factors into account, the UK Car Parking Index showed that Birmingham was the best city to park your car in, with lots of spaces at a fairly reasonable price. Birmingham also came out on top for disabled drivers, with more designated disabled bays than anywhere else in the country. Faring worst were Edinburgh, Sheffield and London which took first, second and third respectively as the worst cities in the UK to park your car.
So, mixed results for Yorkshire – but plenty to work on for the future!
