Blackpool named worst place in the UK to own an electric vehicle - here's why

It's bad news if you own an electric vehicle in Blackpool - the town has been named the least ready placer in the UK for a switch.

Independent Advisor Car Insurance created an index to analyse factors that may influence drivers when switching to EVs, such as free and paid EV charger availability, EV registrations and charging times across towns and cities in the UK, to reveal where drivers have the best chance at going electric.

Read more here on the North West "lagging behind" on electric car take-up

Overall, Blackpool is the town most struggling to encourage the public to change to electric, with an EV readiness score of only 1.81 out of ten. The resort has just 14 charging points available, equating to more than 17,000 residents per charger.

Despite the hurdles, drivers in Blackpool have waits of 3 hours and 21 minutes to charge their electric vehicles - 33 minutes less than those in Preston, where the charging time averages 3 hours and 54 minutes.

Elsewhere in Lancashire

Burnley also made the list, rated as seventh worst in the UK. In Burnley there are 20 public chargers -51 per cent are free to use - with an average of 4,269 people per charger. The average charge time is said to be 4 hours 7 minutes, with an overall readiness score of 2.47.

Where's the best place to own an EV?

Dudley came out as the best town in the UK to switch to electric, with a final EV readiness score of 8.13 out of ten. While it only has 83 EV chargers (2,398 people per charger), 98 per cent of those are free to use. The charging points in the town are also amongst the fastest in the UK on average at 2 hours 29 minutes.

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Insurance costs

The same experts also compared insurance quotes for the five most popular electric and combustion cars. Despite starting prices for popular electric vehicles being higher, it is possible to get car insurance that costs roughly the same as a similarly popular combustion car. However, at the top end electric car insurance does start to creep up, with the most expensive EV quote almost £300 higher than the costliest combustion quote.