Rural drivers are hit by the lack of electric car chargers as they have to drive 13 times further than motorists in London to reach one, report finds

Electric car owners in rural areas have to drive thirteen times farther than drivers in London to reach a charging point, according to a new report.

Rural counties in England have just one electric car charger for every ten miles of road, compared to one every three-quarters of a mile in the capital.

The research found a huge disparity in the frequency of hotspots in rural regions compared to towns and cities.

And in March this year, just 2 per cent of vehicles registered in these areas were plug-in electric, the lowest proportion in England.

It means rural motorists face having to drive further to find a connector, making electric vehicles less practical for many.

Although rural drivers are more likely to have space at home to install a charger, they face having to fork out up to £1,500 to do so.

The report, produced by the Network of Provincial Councils, raised new concerns that some regions are being left behind in the transition to electric vehicles.

The number of plug-in vehicles in rural counties has increased dramatically over the past five years, from 70,337 in 2019 to 385,761 in March 2023.

However, with more than 18 million vehicles on the road in these areas, it represents only 2.1 percent of total vehicles purchased.

This is significantly lower than London, at 4.6 per cent.

Despite this, councils covering mainly rural areas have delivered only 5,500 additional publicly available chargers in the last two years, bringing the total to 13,300.

This means that in these regions there is only one connection point for every 15.5 miles.

However, in London there is one charger for every 1.2 miles and in England’s 25 largest cities there is one for every 6.7 miles.

In London there is one charger for every 1.2 kilometers and in the 25 largest cities in England there is one for every 6.7 kilometers (File image)

The Government has committed to installing 300,000 public chargers across the UK by 2030, but as of July this year only 37,717 had been built in England.

Around 43 new chargers come into operation every day, if those delivered by municipalities and the private sector are combined.

To reach the goal of 300,000, around 110 need to be built daily.

Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delayed the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars until 2035 after the Mail campaigned for the measure.

CCN climate change spokesperson Sam Corcoran said: “As this analysis shows, while huge improvements have been made, much more needs to be done in areas of the county. [to install chargers].’

The Department of Transportation was contacted for comment.