Areas of Scotland at risk of 'being unplugged' from electric car revolution

Low take-up of electric cars in parts of the country are leading to 'EV deserts' being created across Scotland, experts warn.

Parts of Scotland are at risk of "being unplugged from the UK's electric car revolution" amid low take-up in certain areas, experts have said.

The study by climate solutions charity One Home found stark disparities in the ownership of pure electric vehicles (EVs) across the UK as a whole - with a warning "EV deserts" are being created across Scotland. The research, based on DVLA stats on UK postcodes, found eight of the country's top 20 EV deserts were in Scotland.

And of the 1.12million registered pure electric cars in the UK, only 66,912 (6 per cent) are registered to Scottish postcode areas. The area of the UK with the fewest electric cars was the Hebrides followed by Lerwick, Shetland, with 133 and 168 respectively.

They're followed by Wales’ Llandrindod Wells in third place with 368, Kirkwall in Orkney in fourth place with 537, Galashiels in fifth with 888 and Dumfries in sixth with 1006. But whilst the lowest ownership figures in the Highlands and Islands can be attributed to lower population density, the data shows more populous parts of Scotland also feature in the list.

The cities of Perth and Inverness, with just 1860 and 1987 electric cars respectively as of this August also feature in the worst 20, along with Paisley with 2777 EVs despite its 77,000-strong population. Other towns and cities like Dundee, Kilmarnock and Motherwell only narrowly avoided the cut.

Meanwhile, Glasgow is the only Scottish postcode to make it into the top 20 list of UK areas with the highest number of electric cars, with more than 20,000 registered. One Home is urging the UK Government to delay a planned road tax on EVs next year to avoid the gulf in EV ownership becoming wider.

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CEO Angela Terry said: “The good news is that electric cars are rapidly gaining in popularity with numbers on UK roads surpassing the one million mark in 2024. As new car sales increase, second-hand market prices are becoming more affordable.

"However, it's concerning to see a widening chasm between levels of electric car ownership in Scotland compared to the UK as a whole. Just 6 per cent of all pure electric cars are registered to Scottish postcodes which shows that many communities are in real danger of being left behind in the transition away from petrol and diesel cars.

"Electric cars are cheaper to run and everyone should be entitled to make lifestyle changes which improve levels of air pollution on the streets where they live and reduce their carbon footprint. I am calling on the Chancellor to scrap or, at the very least, delay plans to impose road tax on electric vehicles in 2025 at the upcoming Budget.

"Removal of incentives to buy electric cars is absolutely ludicrous and signals a major step backwards for the UK, given the transport sector is still the biggest contributor to our country’s carbon dioxide emissions overall. EV sales need to increase, not decrease, and drivers, particularly those in less affluent areas, should be helped to make the switch rather than have further financial obstacles placed in their path.”

One Home is a UK charity which aims to help households adapt to a low cost, low carbon lifestyle and provides impartial information and advice on practical solutions that improve people’s lives whilst saving money and reducing carbon emissions.

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