2020 tipping point for EV stations

There will be more electric charge stations than petrol stations by 2020, according to new analysis.

Nissan has found that there were just 8,472 fuel stations at the end of last year, a tiny number compared to the 37,573 stations in operation in 1970. That represents a drop of more than 75% in four decades, and the car manufacturer believes that number will drop to 7,870 by August 2020.

Conversely, it predicts the number of public electric vehicle charging locations to reach 7,900 by then – if not before.

Edward Jones, EV manager, Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd, said, ‘As electric vehicle sales take off, the charging infrastructure is keeping pace and paving the way for convenient all-electric driving. 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.’

There were just a few hundred electric charging stations in 2011. But that number has shot up in line with the growing demand for electric vehicles; according to Go Ultra Low, the joint government and car industry campaign, more than 115 electric cars were registered every day in the first quarter of 2016, equivalent to one every 13 minutes.

The campaign also believes electric power could be the dominant form of propulsion for all new cars sold in the UK as early as 2027, with more than 1.3m electric cars registered each year.