U.K. Charging Stations May Outnumber Gas Stations by 2020

Other than price and charge times, one of the biggest obstacles blocking the widespread adoption of electric vehicles is a lack of infrastructure. After all, if you can’t reliably recharge your car, you’re not likely to buy one. But in the U.K., charging stations may soon be more numerous than conventional gas stations.

Nissan said today it predicts we’ll see that happen by the summer of 2020. But while it’s partly due to the increase in electric charging stations, it’s also the result of a rapid decline in gas stations. In 1970, there were 37,539 gas stations in the U.K. By 2015, there were only 8,472, a decrease of around 75 percent. In 2011, meanwhile, there were only a couple hundred electric charging stations. But by 2016, that number had skyrocketed to more than 4,100. By August of 2020, Nissan predicts there will be approximately 7,900 EV charging stations open in the U.K.

“As electric vehicle sales take off, the charging infrastructure is keeping pace and paving the way for convenient all-electric driving,” said Edward Jones, Nissan’s EV manager for Great Britain, in a statement. “Combine that with constant improvements in our battery performance and we believe the tipping point for mass EV uptake is upon us. As with similar breakthrough technologies, the adoption of electric vehicles should follow an ‘S-curve’ of demand. A gradual uptake from early adopters accelerates to a groundswell of consumers buying electric vehicles just as they would any other powertrain.”

If current car-buying trends continue, those charging stations will be necessary. According to Go Ultra Low, a joint campaign between the British government and European automakers, more than 115 new EVs were registered every day in the U.K. during the first quarter of 2017. Buy 2027, Go Ultra Low believes as many as 1.3 million new EVs will be registered every year. If so, EVs would also outsell gas-powered vehicles.

What these numbers mean, though, isn’t entirely clear. As the report also mentions, “the vast majority of electric vehicle owners charge at home,” so visiting a public charging station isn’t always a necessity. It’s unlikely that any private citizens are refueling their gas-powered cars at home. But with increased access to charging stations, prospective EV buyers are less likely to feel range anxiety. Perhaps the U.S. will follow suit a few years after.

Source: Nissan

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