Tesco named as UK’s most EV friendly store

A new study by Direct365, an essential business services provider, has uncovered the cities and brands that have invested most in EV infrastructure.

Analysing government data, the research compiled the number of EV charging stations at major stores, popular public areas, car parks, on street parking and workspaces across UK cities.

Taking a look at public EV chargers registered, there are 17,836 listed in 485 villages, towns and cities across the UK, against the UK government target of 300,000 public chargers by 2030.

Overall Tesco is the most EV-friendly brand. The major retailer has 774 EV stations in the UK, almost two thirds more than Morrisons (273). In bottom place, IKEA have a total of 25 EV chargers across their UK stores. While they have significantly fewer stores compared to top supermarket brands like Tesco, the probability of getting a charging spot whilst visiting the furniture store is less likely as most stores only have one charger.

On the whole, Tesco in Manchester has more EV chargers than in any other cities, with 23 charge station available to shoppers, whilst in London Tesco stores only offer 14 charge stations throughout the city. Elsewhere, Bradford has the highest amount of Aldi EV charging stations (9), while London has the spoil of Lidl’s (18) and Sainsbury’s EV ports (20).

London boasts the most charging stations, with 7000 chargers. 87% of these chargers are located on-street (6,096) with a further 237 found in public car parks around London and 20 at NHS properties throughout the city. Of all public chargers registered only two are not available 24/7, accommodating to those looking to complete a battery charge overnight.

Elsewhere, Coventry has the second-highest number of EV charge points (831). Of this, 736 are on street facilities — an impressive amount for a city its size. Interestingly, only 51% of the city’s charge points require payment, including those at major supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s. Aldi and Lidl.

Despite Manchester’s non-comparable population, the city has 5% share of EV stations at retail parks (93) in comparison to London which has 75. You’re least likely to have 24 hour access to a charger however if you live or are visiting Manchester however, as only 74% of the city’s chargers are available overnight.

If you own an electric vehicle, a workplace charging station or nearby car park can make your commute easier. London has the largest share of charging docks at workplaces, with 107 scatted around the capital. Numbers significantly drop in other regions. Dundee has the second highest with 18 workplace stations, while only 29% of UK towns and cities have even just 1 workplace charging point.

Although for those that aren’t looking to drive into the city centre, Nottingham’s park and ride stations boast more EV chargers than anywhere else, with 38. Leicester and London take second and third spots with 22 and 20 EV stations. There aren’t too many EV stations in NCP car parks currently, with only 81 in the UK, but you’re most likely to come across them in London (20), Bolton (9) or Manchester (9). Out of the 20 cities in the UK with EV chargers at an NCP car park, 8 of these locations only have 1 charger available.

Karl Bantleman at Direct365 commented, “It has been identified that much more investment into charging infrastructure and technology advancements is required in order for the UK Government to meet their ambitious goal to ban the sale of new ICE cars by 2030. However, although we have currently only met 6% of our goal to have 300,000 chargers by the end of the decade, current owners and those considering the switch to EV should not be put off.

One thing’s for certain and that is that one day in the not so distant future, EV vehicles will dominate our roads, whether this be through choice or by law. Therefore, in preparing for an electric future, councils and businesses should continue to invest in infrastructure, while consumers also invest in at-home chargers to assist in a steady transition.”