Over two-thirds of councils unable to offer accessible EV chargers despite installation increase

On-street electric vehicle charger numbers for drivers with accessibility needs have doubled in the last 12 months but 75 per cent of councils still have no accessible chargers, a new study has found.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Vauxhall Electric Streets of Britain has found that while accessible on-street charger provision has increased substantially, many councils still don’t offer a form of EV charging that has been adapted for drivers with accessibility needs.

The number of accessible on-street charge points located within disabled parking bays has risen to 245 from 105 in 2025, but just 15 per cent of on-street chargers are actually adapted for drivers with accessibility needs.

Eurig Druce, Managing Director, Vauxhall & Group Managing Director, Stellantis UK, said: “It’s encouraging to see the number of councils providing accessible on-street charging nearly double in the last year. This shows growing recognition of the importance of ensuring disabled drivers can access public charging infrastructure.”

In response to the FOI, 49 of the 194 councils said that they offered on-street chargers that had either been ‘specifically adapted for disabled drivers or conform to the British Standards Institution’s PAS 1899:2022 accessible charging standard.’ It represents an uptick on the 24 councils which said the same last year.

Druce added: “Our latest research shows there is still more work to do. Three quarters of councils still do not provide chargers that are specifically adapted for disabled drivers or conform to recognised accessibility standards. As more drivers make the switch to electric vehicles, we need to ensure all motorists can easily find and access charge points if we are to bring everyone on the UK’s electrification journey.”