With the UK government set to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, it’s more important than ever that sales and leases of EVs increase to help meet this target. Businesses can play an important role here, as during 2022, 53.2% of cars registered for the first time had a company keeper in the UK. The more of these that are electric, the more it will help meet government targets to phase out petrol and diesel cars and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Here at Moneyshake, we’ve done a deep dive into the latest government statistics to find out which areas of the UK have businesses that are the most prepared for the switch to EVs. This is indicated by the percentage of total licensed vehicles that are electric in each area. Plus, we’ve broken the findings down into local authorities, counties and wider regions, so that’s it’s clear and easy to understand.

What will this show us? Firstly, the data below shows which regions of the UK have businesses which are very prepared, versus not very prepared at all for the wholesale switch to electric vehicles. This gives an idea as to which areas need more development, and which areas are leading the way when it comes to sustainable corporate transport.

What’s more, we can use this information to get a better sense of how the corporate vehicle industry reacts to trends and see whether business owners need to be made more aware of the competitive deals that can now be found on electric company cars.

Which Local Authorities are the Most Prepared?

The top three local authorities where businesses have the highest percentage of electric vehicles are all either in London or just outside the city. This is probably due to the amount of high-earning businesses based there, and the restrictions imposed by London’s ULEZ Zone. However, Stockport in the North West and Leeds in West Yorkshire also feature fifth and sixth on this list, which is a positive sign as to the wider rollout of business EVs across the UK.     

On the other end of the scale, the ten local authorities that are least prepared are in rural locations, which explains the lack of businesses who have registered EVs here, as there are fewer industries and large corporations in these areas. Some of these areas are also remote, and quite difficult to access, which will mean a lack of electric vehicle charging points, making it less accessible to have an EV in these places.

Which Counties are the Most Prepared?

* This list of counties only contains counties in England and Wales.

Berkshire has emerged at the top of the list of counties which have the most EV-registering businesses. It’s no surprise that that many of the other counties on the list like Greater London, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester have large industries that explain the high number of businesses registered EVs. But it’s positive to see more rural counties like Wiltshire and Gloucestershire also in the top ten, as it could indicate a good uptake of smaller businesses using EVs.  

For the counties which are least prepared, many of these are rural, and sparsely populated which means the areas with contain fewer large businesses that have the capacity to operate EVs. Furthermore, several of these counties including Cumbria, Cornwall, Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Monmouthshire contain National Parks or Areas of Outstanding National Beauty, which explains the lack of vehicle operating businesses. However, businesses that do operate in these unspoilt areas would benefit from investing in electric vehicles, as it would help protect the future of these natural areas by reducing the amount of emissions and noise pollution in them.

Which Regions are Most Prepared?

* This list includes all the regions of the UK.

Again, it makes sense that London has the most EV-registering businesses out of all the UK regions. The Northwest comes second, mainly due to the amount of EV-registering businesses that are in Greater Manchester. Just below is the South East, the second most populous region in the UK after Greater London, which explains the high proportion of businesses here that are prepared for the EV switch.

It’s somewhat surprising that the North East isn’t higher on this list as Newcastle is the fifth most populous primary urban area* in the UK. Scotland is also quite low down considering Glasgow is the UK’s fourth most populous primary urban area*.

* In 2021, according to population research from Centre for Cities.

What Does This Mean for the Future of Business EVs?

Overall, these statistics are positive for the future of business EVs, as altogether 925,064 EVs were registered by businesses in the last quarter of 2022. However, to meet the government’s targets, this number needs to increase. Business leases are a great way to do this, as it’s a cost-effective way for companies to allow employees to use electric cars, like the Audi E-Tron, the Tesla Model 3 and more.  

The study also reveals that it is perhaps harder for businesses in more remote areas of the country to invest in EVs, as the EV infrastructure isn’t as developed in these places. Hopefully, this will change in the years to come, as it’s part of the Government’s UK Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy to give over £500 million of funding to local councils so that drivers can access EV charging points everywhere, from big cities, to rural villages.  

Methodology

To find the areas where businesses are the most prepared for the switch to EV, Moneyshake analysed the most recent Vehicle licensing statistics data (Q4, 2022), from the Department for Transport and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. The data included all company vehicles, as well as just specifically company cars.

The number of electric vehicles in each area was divided by the total number of vehicles licensed to find the percentage of how many vehicles licensed in the area were electric. These were then ranked highest to lowest. To find the total amounts for each county and region, the amounts from the local authorities within those areas were added together. 

The study data analysed includes various types of electric vehicles such as battery electric, hybrid electric (petrol), plug-in hybrid electric (diesel), plug-in hybrid electric (petrol) and range-extended electric vehicles.