New figures from the Department of Transport have revealed that Peterborough is the number one local authority for electric car ownership, with approximately one in 20 cars registered in the city being fully electric.

Research from Compare the Market shows that England is leading the way for uptake of EVs, while Northern Ireland and Wales are currently lagging behind.

While London and Birmingham have the highest number of electric vehicles, per capita the big cities are still some way behind in terms of EV ownership. Peterborough leads the way with 5.27 per cent of cars fully electric, closely followed by the Forest of Dean (4.57 per cent) and Slough (3.45 per cent).

Local authority	Total vehicles	EVs	EVs as a percentage
Peterborough	217,280	11,450	5.27 per cent
Forest of Dean	65,170	2,981	4.57 per cent
Slough	245,560	8,470	3.45 per cent
Birmingham	796,070	18,988	2.39 per cent
Renfrewshire	139,070	3,089	2.22 per cent
Watford	67,620	1,444	2.14 per cent
Isles of Scilly	950	18	1.89 per cent
Stirling	69,850	1,253	1.79 per cent
Swindon	294,800	5,227	1.77 per cent
Milton Keynes	395,760	6,719	1.70 per cent

Speaking about the differences around the UK for EV ownership, Compare the Market’s head of motor insurance Dan Hutson said: “Not so long ago, the number of electric vehicles on the road was a lot smaller. The UK didn’t have the infrastructure in place and many people considered switching to electric as too expensive.

“It's great to see that in a relatively short amount of time, this has started to turn and the UK is well on its way to achieving the Government's targets of going electric and banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. With almost a quarter of a million EVs on UK roads, and the number rising constantly, the UK is becoming a nation of more eco-conscious and ‘greener’ motorists.”

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