U.K. EV Chargers May Outnumber Fuel Stations by 2020

SUNDERLAND, U.K. – Public electric-vehicle charging points are set to outnumber U.K. fuel stations by the middle of 2020, according to new analysis by Nissan.

At the end of 2015, there were 8,472 fuel stations in the country, about one-quarter as many as the 37,539 in 1970. Assuming a steady rate of decline, Nissan predicts by August 2020 this will fall to fewer than 7,870.

By contrast, the number of public EV-charging locations is expected to reach 7,900 by the same point in time. However, the accelerating adoption of EVs means this crossover could occur much sooner.

In a press release about its analysis, Nissan does not compare the current or projected number of individual fuel pumps with the number of individual charging points.

Vehicle-registration figures for the April-June period of this year revealed a 38% increase in EV numbers from like-2015, building on a 27.4% pickup in the first quarter of 2016. In addition, EV registrations in the first six months of this year were 31.8% above year-ago.

More than 75% of U.K. gasoline stations have closed in the past 40 years, whereas the number of EV charging locations has surged from a few hundred in 2011 to more than 4,100 in 2016.

London has nearly half as many gasoline stations per car as the Scottish Highlands and now just four remain within the capital’s central congestion-charge zone. A notable closure in 2008 was the Bloomsbury Service Station, which had operated since 1926. The country’s first fuel station opened in November 1919 at Aldermaston in Berkshire.

According to Go Ultra Low, a joint government and car-industry campaign to promote low- or zero-emissions vehicles, more than 115 EVs cars were registered every day in the first quarter of 2016, equivalent to one every 13 minutes. Program leaders believe electric power could be the dominant form of propulsion for all new cars sold in the U.K. as early as 2027, with more than 1.3 million electric cars registered each year.

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

Nissan’s Leaf was the first mass-produced all-electric vehicle and the automaker has sold more EVs than any other car brand worldwide.

While Nissan studies show the vast majority of EV owners charge at home, 98% of U.K. highway-services facilities have charging stations, including rapid connectors that can charge a Leaf’s battery to 80% in just 30 minutes. The 40-hp Leaf, launched in January, claims a range of up to 155 miles (250 km) on a single charge.

Nissan also recently announced the joint development of an atomic analysis methodology that uses amorphous silicon monoxide to increase the energy density of its lithium-ion batteries. This development could the increase future Nissan EVs’ range 150%.