Wigan revealed as one of the worst areas to own an electric vehicle

The report from the International Drivers Association analysed the number of electric car charging points on ZapMap and ONS data to establish which area in the UK with a population of more than 100,000, has the highest number of charging points per 100,000 population.

Wigan ranked the sixth worst area within the UK with just 12.4 charging points per 100,000 residents, equating to about 50 chargers in the entire borough. In fact, neighbouring town Bolton provides no respite for its residents and is statistically the worst place of all with just 8.3 chargers per 100,000.

Julie Middlehurst, assistant director - infrastructure and regulatory services at Wigan Council, said: “The ambition is to have 3,000 publicly available electric vehicle charge points across Greater Manchester by 2025.

“We are working hard with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to improve availability across our borough, while the number of private businesses installing publicly available charge points also continues to increase steadily."

These figures prove how difficult owning an electric car is in comparison to areas such as Milton Keynes which boasts 137.3 per 100,000. As a result of 371 charging points for a population of 270,203.

Other top ranking towns include Coventry, Brighton and Dundee who all feature in the top 10.

A spokesperson from International Drivers Association commented on the findings: “The UK’s charging infrastructure still has a way to go despite the many benefits that electric vehicles have to offer.

"It will be fascinating to see, particularly as fuel costs continue to rise, how the electrical charging landscape continues to evolve over the coming years."

Julie said: “As part of our own environmental strategy, smart charging points are now required on all residential and commercial developments - creating significant environmental benefits by reducing CO2 emissions, and saving people money on fuel.

“The location of charging points can be found on the official TfGM website – https://electrictravel.tfgm.com/chargers-everywhere/”

For more information about the study visit www.internationaldriversassociation.com