EV demand rapidly rising

New research confirms a UK diesel vehicle decline while EV interest is soaring.

The research by online parking portal YourParkingSpace.co.uk is prompting it to introduce more parking spaces on a daily basis where EVs can also top up.

The study of its latest parking booking data which shows what type of vehicle is being parked at one of any of its 250,000 parking spaces available to pre-book online, reveals that diesel vehicles are down by 15% from 2019 to 2020 to 44% of vehicles.

Meanwhile, parking bookings for pure EVs, some spots which are also available with a charging option, are up by 72%, while hybrid vehicle parking bookings have increased by 58%.

“Our data clearly shows that more and more Brits are turning their backs on diesel vehicles,” YourParkingSpace.co.uk managing director Harrison Woods says.

“On the other hand, YourParkingSpace.co.uk has also seen a sharp increase in the number of motorists looking for a parking space to leave their electric vehicle.

“This trend is something that YourParkingSpace.co.uk takes very seriously and we are introducing more spaces on a daily basis where EV owners also have the option of pre-booking a charging facility at the same time.”

London is leading the EV rush, with YourParkingSpace.co.uk data showing that EV parking bookings there more than doubled from 2019 to 2020.

Conversely, the number of diesel vehicle parking bookings was down in almost every city, apart from Aberdeen, with a decline as high as 25% in Liverpool.

“The ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK is less than 10 years away, no doubt hastening the shift to other low carbon forms of transport,” Harrison adds.

“It’s therefore important that the charging infrastructure will be able to cope with a significant increase in electric vehicles.

“One solution is for homeowners with an empty driveway and EV charging facility to rent it out to other motorists when they are not using it on such pre-bookable parking platforms as YourParkingSpace.co.uk.”