Electric Vehicle Charging Sites Exceed Service Stations in the United Kingdom

According to figures released by Nissan, there are now nearly 1,000 more public places to recharge electric cars than there are fronts to pump gasoline in the UK – 9300 EV charging locations compared to 8400 service stations.

There is a little twist in this sound phrase. Some electric vehicle charging stations may contain only one or two points, while gas stations offer many pumps in one place.

And although the charging locations are all "public", only 1,600 of them offer a fast DC charge of the type we expected for purely electric vehicles.

Nevertheless, this is an important step that illustrates the rapid growth of the UK's EV infrastructure. In 2011, when the Leaf was launched, there were only "a few hundred" charging points, Nissan says. That number has risen to more than 9,000 in just eight years.

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The shift to congestion pricing in city centers – with electric vehicles exempted – has helped many people use rechargeable vehicles.

Transport for London has installed more than 1,000 charging stations for electric vehicles in the past year alone. There are only four service stations left in London's congestion charge zone.

The Bloomsbury gas station, which has been in operation since 1926, is one of the oldest hotels in the country. It was closed in 2008.

In August 2019, compared with the previous year, the demand for battery electric vehicles rose 158%, accounting for a 1.4% market share – the highest level ever recorded.

While the volume of electric vehicles and charging stations is increasing due to demand, the decrease in the number of gas stations is not solely due to the switch to rechargeable vehicles.

Over the past few decades, the number of service stations has declined dramatically, with the business model shifting from small family garages selling fuel and maintaining / repairing cars to larger franchises focused more on convenience stores.

Nearly 80% of UK petrol stations have closed since 1970.

In New Zealand, the number of service stations increased from nearly 4,000 in the mid-1970s to about 1,200.

According to the PlugShare website, there are more than 400 electric vehicle charging sites in New Zealand.

ChargeNet, the largest provider of DC fast charging services in the country, currently has more than 150 locations in the country.