A “vast amount” of the UK is ” unprepared” for the switch to electric vehicles (EV), according to new research by Carwow.
The research of public government data revealed a number of places needing public chargers in light of a jump of 23% in enquiries for EVs, following the US-Israel war with Iran pushing up fuel prices.
The increased demand for EVs across the UK means the pace at which local authorities must improve their infrastructure for EV ownership is speeding up.
Stockport faces the most pressure to meet the demand for electric chargers, with the highest number of EVs for each public charger.
The northern city also demonstrates the strongest case for increased investment in EV charging, as EV ownership is growing notably faster than the rollout of charging stations.
In Stockport, where charger pressure is greatest, there are only two chargers per 1,000 EV’s, despite nearly £2 million investment into charger installation in council-owned car parks.
Similarly, in Windsor and Maidenhead, the area will need to rapidly increase the number of chargers to support the growing demand.
Leeds is another major UK city that falls behind on its investment and demonstrates a strong case for more rapid growth in charger installation with only 13 chargers per 1,000 EVs, alongside the likes of Peterborough, Milton Keynes, and even Manchester.
Combining charger pressure, EV density, and the gap between EV growth and charger growth, we’ve explored which UK areas with at least 100,000 residents and 1,000 EVs have the strongest case for more charging investment.
Electric vehicle adoption in the UK has seen a steady increase in 2025, with Carwow reporting a growth in market share from 40.65%
Iain Reid, Global Content Director from Carwow, said:
“The grant clearly sparked interest when it launched, but the reality is that many drivers still don’t know it’s there. If three in five car buyers are unaware of the support available, it’s no surprise that momentum in interest in the grant has been difficult to maintain.
“Our data shows that drivers respond quickly when incentives are introduced but keeping that interest going is the bigger challenge. For the UK to stay on course for its EV targets, support needs to be simple, visible and easy for people to understand. Infrastructure investment is vital, but so is clear communication, especially in parts of the country where uptake is stalling.”
Top 10 areas under the most charger pressure:
Rank Area Public chargers 2025 EVs 2025 Chargers per 1000 EV’s 1 Stockport 196 196 2 2 Windsor and Maidenhead 149 149 2 3 Peterborough 161 161 3 4 Slough 118 118 3 5 Swindon 200 200 4 6 South Gloucestershire 292 292 7 7 Leeds 679 679 13 8 Milton Keynes 879 879 13 9 Wiltshire 491 491 15 10 Bury 70 70 21 Top 10 strongest cases for more charging investment:
Rank Area EVs per charger How much faster EV ownership grew than charger rollout (percentage points) Priority score 1 Stockport 558.1 25,494.0 0.94 2 Windsor and Maidenhead 540.7 18,670.0 0.89 3 Peterborough 309.8 2,220.0 0.37 4 Swindon 268.2 1,913.0 0.33 5 Slough 294.2 739.0 0.33 6 South Gloucestershire 145.9 3,809.0 0.22 7 Milton Keynes 74.9 1,660.0 0.17 8 Wiltshire 66.1 2,506.0 0.11 9 Leeds 75.7 1,161.0 0.10 10 Manchester 31.7 4,487.0 0.10 Image courtesy of the Green Car Guide
