Electric vehicles are slowly starting to take over the world, with sales of electric vehicles beating diesel cars in Europe for the first time in December 2021. The need for councils, governments, states and municipalities to keep up with charging demand within their infrastructures and town planning has never been so vital.
We’ve researched the destinations leading the EV charge in the world today and have highlighted those towns and cities ensuring that charging and electric vehicle capabilities are keeping up with the consumer demands to transition from combustion to green energy. Here are our top five locations that the rest of the world could learn a thing or two from!
1) San Francisco, California, USA
Reasons why it’s successful for electric vehicles:
- Drivers have access to an abundance of electricity supplies with nearly 580 charging stations within the city
- Around half of the city's electricity supply comes from renewable sources
- Decreased price and emissions associated with EV transportation
- Tesla, the world famous electric vehicle and clean energy company, was previously headquartered in the Bay Area and continues to have a significant presence.
- San Francisco has successfully ran marketing campaigns to promote electric vehicles as stylish, especially among younger generations, celebrities and influencers.
Plans for the future:
- 2024: Tesla and Uber will partner with rental car company Hertzto create a shared-mobility supermodel via “UberGreen” (enabling zero-emission journeys in fully electric vehicles)
- 2022/23: Uber and Jump will team up to expand across Europe, providing high quality electric bicycles as an emission free alternative for shorter distances
2) Dundee, Scotland
Reasons why it’s successful for electric vehicles:
- Dundee is a small and compact city, perfectly suited for short-distance driving and a perfect testbed for EV infrastructure
- Dundee has provided charging solutions for residents living in block of flats who are unable to obtain a dedicated charge point
- All charging hubs are close to local communities and support local businesses while providing facilities for the user of the charger
- Dundee has an electric taxi fleet with 165 vehicles which accounts for 25% of the city’s taxi trade
- The city offers free EV parking and special tariffs
- Inter-City E-Coach - The UK’s first purely electric coach service takes travellers to Edinburgh
- Dundee Council has installed chargers in the surrounding region to create an EV charging network that is seamless and without boundaries
- Dundee has one of the biggest fleet of electric council vehicles in the UK which includes less common EVs such as refuse lorries and buses
Plans for the future: Dundee Council has set a goal of converting 20% of all vehicles in the city to electric by 2027
An interesting YouTube video: “Dundee, Scotland, leads the EV charge as the world tries to catch up”
3) Oslo, Norway
Reasons why it’s successful for electric vehicles:
- The city offers tax exemptions and subsidised pricing for purchases of electric vehicles
- The city provides toll exemptions and lower parking fees for electric vehicles
- It also provides incentives and benefits which the government has had in place since 2009 to make owning and operating EV cheaper than their polluting equivalents
- The city is always exploring new ways to make charging convenient, flexible and viable, particularly in residential settings
Plans for the future:
- The city will soon introduce semi-fast charging stations, up to 22 kilowatts
- Implement electric vehicles in public markets
- Increase funding for EV charging infrastructures
- Logistic companies prioritise on the electrification of transport goods, and the majority of local government transport services are electric
- By 2024 the city aims to ensure all taxis in Oslo will be emission free
Oslo interesting YouTube video:
The INSANE rise of electric cars in Norway! More than 50%!
4) Iceland
Reasons why it’s successful for electric vehicles:
- Within the country there has been a significant change in attitude among Iceland’s consumers with many now opting for electric vehicles
- The country offers financial incentives for consumers to help negate the price differences between EV and conventional vehicles
- The country has a strong infrastructure network offering improved convenience for EV drivers
- Thanks to the country's abundance of renewal energy (renewable energy provides nearly 100% of electricity production, with about 73% coming from hydropower and 27% from geothermal power) electric vehicles are the most logical form of low cost and low pollution transport
Plans for the future:
- Iceland's main aspiration to be carbon-neutral before 2040
- Additional charging hubs are to be opened in strategic points of the country during spring and summer with a further 84 charging ports to be installed
- EVBox charging stations will be further developed to become a prominent feature of the country and represent the forward-thinking attitudes of Icelandic citizens
Iceland interesting YouTube video:
Iceland looks to e-vehicle chargers for energy sustainability
5. Frankfurt, Germany
Reasons why it’s successful for electric vehicles:
-There is a significant level of infrastructure in place for easy EV charging. EV drivers can use 14 charging stations in the urban area without having to register in advance with the electricity supplier.
- Frankfurt Airport has launched eParking, reserved parking spaces for electric vehicles. Since 2010 the airport has also offered free battery charging.
- Frankfurtemobil is a label created to raise awareness towards car pollution through fun events
- Carpools offer good operating conditions for electric vehicles
- Short distances in the city traffic are very suitable for electric vehicles
- Funding electric vehicles for craft enterprises, and the city has a goal to ensure all local delivery services are done by EV vehicles
Future plans / what they will do in the future / aspirations:
- Connected cars with turbocharging will be the new mobility ecosystem
- Maintain the price of electric cars over a sustained period of time (no inflation). To learn more about Frankfurt, click here.
Frankfurt interesting YouTube video:
“Germany's Drive Toward Electric Vehicles”
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
