A new poll from chargepoint operator (CPO) Zest has revealed that on street electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities are a key consideration when moving home for a significant proportion of Londoners.
Almost 60% of the 1,000 Londoners surveyed said that they would consider the availability of on-street EV charging in an area if they were to move house in the next five years, with 9.4% saying they would give the topic “a great deal of consideration”. Meanwhile, only a third of respondents said they would not consider nearby public EV charging options when looking for a new home.
Robin Heap, founder and CEO of Zest, said: “Many London councils are already surging ahead deploying thousands of on-street electric car chargers for residents. What our poll reveals is that we need to keep that momentum up and build it out to other boroughs, because the demand is clearly there from Londoners who are looking to move house over the next five years.
“It is worth remembering, by installing on-street chargers, we do not just make it easier for London motorists to switch to EV, but in turn all residents end up benefiting from quieter streets and cleaner air, which is particularly important in cities like London.”
London and the EV revolution
According to UK government figures released in July, London is home to almost a third (32%) of the UK’s public EV chargepoints, playing host to over 20,000 public chargers. A significant proportion of city residents do not have access to a driveway or private carpark, making access to local on street EV chargepoints critical to successful EV ownership.
However, a lack of access to home EV charging could be costing Londoners a significant sum. Data from EV charger mapping company Zapmap has shown that EV drivers without access to home charging spend over £1,000 more each year on charging than those who are able to charge from home; this fact can entirely wipe out the cost benefit of driving an EV over a petrol or diesel powered vehicle for some drivers.
Despite this, the EV market is flourishing in the capital. The expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), forcing vehicles that don’t meet strict emissions standards must pay a £12.50 daily charge across the capital, has caused a mini-boom in used EV sales. Marketcheck analysed used EV sales in the three months before and after the ULEZ was expanded to include all London boroughs, and saw an 8% rise in used EV sales in areas newly included in the zone.
Meanwhile, the borough of Haringey recently announced that it will install 38 new EV chargepoints at 19 locations across the borough in order to encourage EV uptake.
A recent Current± blog explored the best and worst places in the UK to be an EV driver – see how London fared here.