Swindon in top 10 regions switching to electric cars

Swindon has been ranked sixth in the top ten regions making the switch to electric cars.

This is according to new data from the Department for Transport and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. 

It revealed that Swindon is one of the UK areas embracing electric cars the most, with the region registering 493,623 electric cars between 2009 and 2023.

The research analysed data on the total number of plug-in cars registered between 2009 and 2023 in each UK local authority and insurance experts Howden Insurance calculated the total number of plug-in cars registered in each UK local authority between 2009 and 2023.

The local authorities were then ranked from highest to lowest number of cars registered. The total number of electric cars registered in the UK during this period is 13,485,000.

Greater Manchester is the local authority embracing electric cars the most, with 1,045,910 electric cars registered in the area between 2009 and 2023 – almost 10% of the UK’s total.

Within the county, Stockport is the town with the highest number of registered plug-in cars, with 837,067 cars; this amounts to 80% of the local authority’s total registered electric cars.

The local authority with the second highest number of registered electric cars is Outer London, with a total of 908,775 plug-in cars. The Outer London borough of Hillingdon is home to the highest number of electric cars, with 109,831 cars registered in the area.

Third is West Yorkshire, with 625,234 registered electric cars. In West Yorkshire, the city of Leeds is welcoming electric cars the most, with 487,775 plug-in cars registered in the city between 2009 and 2023.

Inner London is in fourth place, with 620,365 electric car registrations. The Inner London borough of Westminster has the region’s highest number of registered electric cars at 131,286 cars.

The West Midlands rounds out the top five, with 580,289 plug-in cars registered. Birmingham is the West Midlands’ leader in switching to electric cars, with 325,895 registered electric cars. 

The local authority with the sixth highest number of registered electric cars is Swindon, with 493,623 cars, and Milton Keynes ranks seventh, with 489,533 registered electric cars.

In eighth place is Slough, with 489,998 registered plug-in cars, and taking the penultimate place in the ranking is Peterborough, with 485,998 registered electric cars.

Concluding the top ten is South Gloucestershire, with 333,315 electric cars registered between 2009 and 2023.

A spokesperson for Howden Insurance said: “With greater awareness of the impact of petrol and diesel vehicles on the planet, many local authorities are proposing to introduce clean air schemes.

"With the cost-efficiency of electric cars and local governments introducing EV benefits, interest in electric vehicles or low-emission vehicles has soared in the UK.

“Areas such as the West Midlands and West Yorkshire have Clean Air Zones in Birmingham and Bradford, so these areas have invested more in EV charging points than other areas have done in order to accommodate electric vehicles.

“In March 2024, the West Midlands secured £15.7 million in funding to support its plans to install up to 12,000 electric vehicle chargers across the area over the next five years.”