Over the last couple of years we have seen consumer attitudes towards the environment shift – in part thanks to the cleaner air and lower pollution levels experienced during the pandemic – causing many to consider how they can reduce their impact on rising emissions.

Against a backdrop of rising fuel prices, and the future ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars (by 2030), electric car sales have been flying.

Our research reveals that the combined number of electric (BEVs), plug-in hybrid (PHEVs) and other ultra-low emission vehicles on our roads has increased by 176 per cent over the past two years. Over the same time period, the number of pure electric vehicles alone (BEVS) has quadrupled. That means there were 14.75 electric vehicles per public charging point across the UK at the end of 2021 on average, compared to 6.35 at the end of 2019.

But while consumer attitudes are rapidly shifting in favour of cleaner vehicles, public charging infrastructure is not keeping pace. The rollout has been slow, and is still very patchy, with the number of charging points increasing just 72 per cent over the same period.

Now, there is just the equivalent of one public charging point for every six privately owned electric cars and one for every five privately owned hybrid cars, according to our research.

As a result, accessibility to charging facilities, or the space to instal one, is becoming an increasingly important factor for home buyers, particularly in affluent neighbourhoods, where electric vehicle adoption is the strongest. While Britain has about 20,000 publicly accessible charging points, latest figures suggest that 120,000 have been fitted in owners’ homes.

But the ability to instal a charger is limited. While overall, owner-occupiers are most likely to have the means to instal a power point, the owners of terraces and flats are in fact least likely to be able to do so due to the lack of off-street parking (75 per cent and 60 per cent of properties respectively do not have an off-road parking facility, according to the latest English Housing Survey). Those living in rental properties (50 per cent) were also likely to struggle to find somewhere to power up.

As the gap between electric vehicle demand  and public charging points grows, we can expect to see homes that offer private charging provisions come at a premium.

In suburban London, a home with a driveway now adds 4.7 per cent to the price (Savills prime London index Q1 2022), while a driveway in London’s most expensive central postcodes can add 33 per cent to the price of the property – even more than the value of a large garden, which adds 26 per cent to a home's value, according to our research.

This is likely to only increase until we see a more comprehensive rollout of public charging points and investment in the capacity of the grid so that it can keep up with demand.

Further information

Contact Lucian Cook

Contact Savills Residential Research