According to a recent investigation by Vauxhall, over two thirds of UK councils have not yet installed any kerbside electric vehicle (EV) chargers. This is concerning considering the UK government’s ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered cars will take effect in just over six years.

The investigation found that 69% of councils do not have on-street chargepoints, and 71.6% do not have a published strategy for on-street residential charging.

Out of the councils that responded, 45% said they had no plans to install residential on-street chargers this year.

Data from Zapmap and the Department for Transport (DfT) shows that as of July 1, only 34% of the UK’s 44,020 public chargepoints were designated as on-street chargers.

While the Energy Saving Trust estimates that 80% of EV charging is done at home and a 2022 survey by Zapmap revealed that 84% of existing EV drivers have a home charger, approximately 40% of UK households do not have a driveway or access to dedicated off-street parking to install a private chargepoint. This number rises to 60% in urban areas.

Starting in 2024, the UK will require 22% of all new car sales to be zero-emission vehicles. This will increase annually, reaching 80% in 2030 and 100% in 2035. For vans, the requirements will start at 10% in 2024 and reach 70% in 2030.

New petrol and diesel car sales will be banned in 2030, while sales of hybrids with significant zero-emission capabilities will be prohibited five years later. These measures will further increase the demand for charging infrastructure.

As per the Vauxhall investigation, there are plans to install 14,188 new chargers across 289 councils by the end of this year. If this forecast is met, the UK will have around 60,000 public chargers by the end of 2023, compared to the 37,055 devices that were installed as of January 1, 2023, according to Zapmap.