Netherlands, Norway and UK best prepared for EVs
The Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom are the best prepared countries in Europe for the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, according to new research which explored the preparedness of European countries for mass adoption of EVs.
The EV Readiness Index, produced by international leasing company LeasePlan, analysed 22 European countries on their preparedness for the EV revolution and found almost all had improved in the last year, but some significantly more than others.
The research covered EV registrations, the maturity of EV infrastructure, government incentives and LeasePlan’s experience with EVs in each country.
The study found that improvements in EV readiness were due to a combination of factors across Europe. These included the increased availability of public charging infrastructure, which was up 73% year-on-year and a more beneficial taxation regime for EV drivers in many countries.
On average, EV drivers pay 40% less tax than drivers of conventional engined vehicles, although in some countries, EV drivers actually pay more tax.
Across the continent, the number of EV registrations increased with, on average, 60% between 2018 and 2019. The countries with highest increases were Luxembourg (+154%), Ireland (+127%) and The Netherlands (+120%).
The study found that in first place, the Netherlands, and Norway, in second, were the most mature EV markets, due to a steady growth in EV registrations and the increasing availability of charging infrastructure. However, Government incentives were stabilising.
The two biggest climbers in the index were Ireland, which was up six places to fourth place overall and the UK, up five places to third, with both countries improving their EV Readiness ranking significantly compared to last year, as a result of better charging infrastructure, a higher percentage of EV registrations and more attractive government incentives.
Greece, which rose two places to 19th, was able to improve its ranking following improvements in charging infrastructure and government incentives.
On the other hand, Sweden was down two places to fifth overall and Finland down three places to eighth, despite strong growth in sales of EVs, because growth was skewed towards the plug-in hybrid segment, the study found.
Across Europe, there was a 73% increase in public charging stations, and there are now over 4,000 fast charging locations across the countries surveyed.
In 2019, more countries introduced or prolonged a wide range of government incentives for EVs - a key requirement for stimulating EV uptake. In the majority of countries surveyed, driver taxation for EVs was more beneficial than for fossil fuel vehicles.
On average, EV drivers were taxed at 60% of the amount drivers of fossil fuel vehicles were paying, while in four markets - Austria, Greece, Ireland and the UK - EVs were fully exempt from driver taxation.
However, LeasePlan reiterated concerns from within the European fleet and automotive industries that there was still a long way to get everyone driving EVs and that much more work needed to be done by governments to encourage the shift to EVs.
Tex Gunning, CEO of LeasePlan, said: “Millions of Europeans still live in countries where public charging infrastructure is woefully inadequate or in which they pay more taxation than drivers of fossil fuel cars.
“Transitioning to electric is one of the simplest things we can all do to help tackle climate change and everyone should be able to afford to go green. Policymakers must therefore step up and continue to invest in public charging infrastructure and to incentivise EV uptake until electric becomes the common sense choice for all drivers.”
The 22 countries included in the LeasePlan EV Readiness Index 2020 were: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The study can be downloaded here