Research reveals Reading’s love for electric cars

MoneySuperMarket has revealed that Reading is leading the charge on electric vehicles in the UK.

Based on the number of insurance enquiries for electric vehicles per 100,000 people, Reading’s 2,016 puts it in first place. This is 8 per cent higher than Guildford, which places second with 1866 enquiries per 100,000.

Part of the reason for this may be Reading’s Tesla Garage, along with the high number of tech companies there.

Reading’s Green Park was also one of the first locations in the UK to have Tesla Superchargers installed, in 2014.

Nearby Oxford recently opened Europe’s largest electric vehicle charging hub, it is sixth in the list.

Oxford sits between Chelmsford (fifth) and Slough, with 1,425 enquiries per 100,000.

Read more - Europe’s most powerful EV charging hub opens in Oxford

Sara Newell, MoneySuperMarket, commented: “It’s great to see electric car ownership on the rise as more people make the change from petrol or diesel cars.

“Electric cars and vans have often been more expensive  to insure than petrol or diesel vehicles because of the cost and availability of spare parts, and the need for specialist repair works. 

“But as more electric vehicles come onto the market, and with the government’s 2030 impending ban on new petrol and diesel cars, the cost of insurance is falling.”

MoneySuperMarket’s data also looked at the professions of EV drivers, finding that 10.2 per cent of all EV insurance enquiries are for retirees. This is nearly twice as many as the next category, NHS workers, who made up in 5.8 per cent.

They were followed by workers in the information technology sector, at 4.5 per cent. Notably, Computers – Software makes it to ninth in the list, reinforcing the suggestion that Reading’s tech cluster has led it to have a higher rate of EV adoption.

Read more - UK firms to adopt 163,000 electric vehicles this year