Europe is more ready than ever for the ‘EV revolution’, with the Netherlands, Norway and the UK continuing to lead the way.

Charging infrastructure is still lagging and will be key to improving EV readiness going forward, according to the LeasePlan research

However, charging infrastructure continues to be a major roadblock to take-up, with the rate of charging point installation actually falling in 2020.

The data comes from LeasePlan’s 2021 EV Readiness Index, which analyses the preparedness of 22 European countries for mass take-up of EVs, based on registrations, the maturity of the charging infrastructure and government incentives in each country.

The research for 2020 shows almost all countries show an improved score compared to last year, signalling increased EV readiness across the continent. The rate of improvement, however, varies significantly across Europe, with Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic having both the lowest scores and the slowest improvement rate, underlining the continued disparity between Western and Eastern Europe in terms of EV readiness.

It also funds that EVs have never been more affordable. In 11 countries, EVs are already cheaper than their ICE counterparts on a TCO basis. In addition, EV drivers pay on average only 63% of the tax that ICE drivers pay. Austria, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Poland and the UK are leading the charge: in these countries, EV drivers pay no driver tax at all.

But charging infrastructure is still lagging and will be key to improving EV readiness going forward. Although some progress was made in 2020 on charging infrastructure, the rate of improvement actually dropped compared to last year (43% increase rate in 2020 compared to 73% increase in 2019). Even in top-ranked countries, charging infrastructure remains far from adequate, according to LeasePlan

CEO Tex Gunning said: “In opinion polling done earlier this year, we already saw that lack of charging infrastructure was a major roadblock stopping drivers from going electric – and the analysis in our EV Readiness Index proves these fears are well founded. To put it bluntly: the pace of improvement just isn’t fast enough, and Europe is failing to deliver the infrastructure required for the clean mobility revolution.

“Leaders and policymakers in every single one of the 22 countries in this Index need to step up and invest in a universal, affordable and sustainable charging infrastructure before it’s too late – the climate emergency can’t wait.”