Scotland is continuing to lead the way in electric car sales, with North Ayrshire and five other Scottish local authority areas listed in the UK top 20 for electric and hybrid car sales
The upsurge in the use of electric vehicles (EV) is a key target of this SNP Government, which has pledged to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2032 - eight years ahead of the UK Government.
Rising sales of electric vehicles have led to increasing numbers of public charging points being installed. According to figures published in December 2017, there are 1,133 EV charge points in the ChargePlace Scotland network, with a total of 2,089 connectors (sockets) between them. This compares with 870 charge points and 1,772 connectors a year earlier. Their latest installation is a 22 kW charging unit at the new Largs Campus, which went live on 08 August.
Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:
“These figures clearly show that strong political commitment and real investment on the ground really do influence the choices people make.
“The SNP Government’s commitment to phase out the need for petrol and diesel cars, together with investment which has seen the number of public charging points in Scotland rise, mean there can be no doubt that Scotland is serious about electric cars and the public and companies are responding by buying them in ever increasing numbers, including in a healthy and growing second hand market.”
Kenneth Gibson MSP added:
“These figures demonstrate that Scottish drivers are leading the UK with low emission cars and green technology. With concerns rising over the health impact of air pollution created by traffic, which is also the largest source of climate change emissions, electric vehicles are clearly a major part of decarbonising Scotland’s transport network.”
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