‘Scotland has highest rate of public rapid charging devices for electric vehicles of any UK nation or region’ says UK government report

By stewartb

The UK Department of Transport has recently updated UK statistics on the provision of public electric vehicle charging devices by nation and region. It obtains the data from the electric vehicle and charging point platform Zapmap to provide a snapshot.

Source https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electric-vehicle-charging-device-statistics-april-2023/electric-vehicle-charging-device-statistics-april-2023#annex-b-location-of-charging-devices

Two metrics are shown in the diagrams below: (I) overall distribution of public charging points per 100,000 of populatImageion; and (ii) the number of ‘rapid’ plus ‘ultra rapid’ charging points per 100,000 of population. (Definitions are given in the source document.)

The first chart shows the present uneven geographical distribution of devices. It is notable that the provision per 100,000 of population in Scotland (at 72) is second only to London: it’s hard to envisage a greater contrast in these two geographical units. (That provision in Scotland is substantially higher than in Wales should be of interest to Labour MSPs!)

We also learn from this HM Government document that: ‘… Scotland had the highest rate of rapid device provision of 18.4 rapid or quicker devices per 100,000, whilst the average provision in the UK was 11.4 per 100,000. Rapid or quicker device provision was lowest for Northern Ireland …  ‘. Scotland is a clear outlier on this metric: it is around seven percentage points better provided for than Wales.

End note

The BBC News website’s Scotland page on 26 January 2022 had this headline: ‘Aim to double Scotland’s electric vehicle charging network’.

The BBC reported the then Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Michael Matheson insisting then that Scotland had one of the UK’s best charging networks outside of London. And it appears from this latest UK government report that it still has – and indeed it is presently best in the UK in terms of providing rapid charging devices.

The same BBC article reported Mr Matheson telling MSPs that a new “public electric vehicle infrastructure fund” would spend £60m over the next four years, with “around half” of the cash coming from the private sector. So only c.18 months have passed since this announcement – some way to go!

The BBC also reported that the objectives of the Scottish Government in early 2022 to invest in this new infrastructure backed by public and private funds was rubbished by the Labour spokesperson in Holyrood from the outset. Colin Smyth MSP is quoted saying: “This was a masterclass from the SNP in under-delivery that will leave Scotland’s electric car owners stuck at the side of the road. We need to go further and faster.”

If electric vehicle owners in Scotland are presently ‘stuck at the side of the road’ as this Labour MSP claimed, then the services of the AA, RAC and the like may be in high demand in Wales! And anyway if this is all so straightforward, with devolved governments awash with money to invest, why is the Welsh Labour government not leading the way in in the UK in establishing this new infrastructure?

By the way, I can’t find any BBC coverage of these up to date statistics from the UK government, you know the ones that show – to recap:

  • ‘London and Scotland had the highest level of charging provision per 100,000 of population’; and
  • ‘Scotland had the highest rate of rapid device provision of 18.4 rapid or quicker devices per 100,000’!

A case of ‘nothing to see here’ – move on and wait for a news story with greater potential for negativity?

9 thoughts on “‘Scotland has highest rate of public rapid charging devices for electric vehicles of any UK nation or region’ says UK government report”

  1. With regard to

    “A case of ‘nothing to see here’ – move on and wait for a news story with greater potential for negativity?”

    This article shows the UK mid-table for charging points in Europe.

    Interestingly, it says

    https://statzon.com/insights/ev-charging-points-europe

    “Countries with a GDP of EUR 46 000 or more are expected to have a 15% or higher market share of EV sales, whereas countries with an average GDP of below EUR 17 000 are likely to have a market share of less than 3%, 2021 data shows.”

    I am wondering how close to the “15% or higher market share of EV sales” figure Scotland is as it would be an indicator Scotland has one of the highest GDPs in Europe.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Nope – It shows SG are trying to exceed the minimum “requirements”, and it’s wise that they did so before capacity to do it it vanished southward.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Hi Bob, thanks for your comment.

        I did see a pdf report this morning about spending plans for more points. I will need to find it again to download and share.

        With regard to a link between electric vehicle ownership and a countries GDP, the most recent figure I found was in a Daily Record article for all car sales in Scotland for the month of March 2021 which showed 10.21% were for electric vehicles, which is not a bad starting point to look from.

        I am out and about at the moment, but if the % of electric vehicle car sales in Scotland have increased since that month, and is near to, or exceed 15% of all car sales, does the finding in the link above, about GDP, not then apply to Scotland?

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. Sorry but no – GDP is a frequently abused and entirely artificial measure – In UK reports it is common, deliberately hiding the massive local variations in wealth behind a National average.

          eg – How many Teslas would you see on average in Scotland compared to London and the SE ?
          Few in Scotland have the choice to leave the Bentley at home to take the Kia Kona down to Cannes…. 😉

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  2. I’m not currently (pun unintended) a fan of EVs but see the merit in their expansion particularly in Scotland, but it rather throws a spanner in the works when WM’s bleeder of the House opines that red flags (or cyanide lamps ?) should never have been discontinued for horseless carriages in the first place, and the headroom of the vehicle should be sufficient to accommodate one’s topper. 🙄

    As to “Colin Smyth MSP’s “This was a masterclass from the SNP in under-delivery that will leave Scotland’s electric car owners stuck at the side of the road. We need to go further and faster.” – No Colin, it is
    you “need to go further and faster”, far beyond those small cows, and as far away as possible from the constituents who refused to elect you in the first place and probably never will.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I suspect that Mr Smyth will now be claiming that the high numbers for Scotland are proof that we are “Better Together”. EV drivers in Scotland should be thanking Westminster and the U.K. Government.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  4. Chargers at people’s houses. Hybrid cars only need petrol to start. Chargers in car parks. Free up till now. Electric cars are half as cheap to run. Saving on petrol prices more than half. Remarkable. Renewables adding to the mix.

    Scotland should be paying less for fuel and energy. In surplus and nearer the sources. Scotland the best place in the world for renewables. Wind, water, sea and solar. Higher wind speeds in the world. Isle of Lewis highest record speed recorded.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Bob Lamont. You had me wondering what the heck is a ‘Cyanide Lamp’. Don’t you mean ‘Carbide’?
    Mind you, Cyanide Lamp has a sort of dramatic ring to it.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to Bob Lamont Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.