A claim that Dundee is one of the ‘least electric car friendly’ places in the UK has been rubbished by the council’s city development convener.
Research by new car price comparison site Motorway labelled Dundee the second worst town or city in the country for viability for electric car ownership.
The website looked at more than 100 locations and used the percentage of properties for sale with off-street parking — which provides an opportunity to install home charging points.
It said that just 50.4% had driveways or garages, just behind London’s 48.6%, while Poole in southern England came top with 91.9%.
Every car owner in Scotland will soon need to switch to electric after it was announced new diesel and petrol cars and vans will be phased out by 2032 (2040 in the rest of the UK) to reduce air pollution.
Many drivers are expected to have charging points at home but public chargers will be needed for many motorists who live in flats and for drivers to use mid-journey.
The council has made a big shift in recent years towards encouraging use of electric vehicles — particularly in the taxi industry.
The new Princess Street charging hub, which opened last month, is used by almost 100 vehicles per day with some in the taxi industry describing it as the best in Scotland and ‘globally impressive’.
In total, there are more than 20 public charging posts in the city.
Maryfield councillor Lynne Short, the council’s convener of city development, said the study failed to look at the bigger picture and added the city’s reliance on on-street parking is exactly why the authority is investing in public charging points.
She said it was “ridiculous” to suggest the city is not electric car friendly.
She said: “They have looked at it in a very strange way. They have not taken into consideration anything other than the type of housing.
“We are very proud of what we have done. For anyone to come along and say that we’re one of the least electric car friendly places in the UK is just wrong.”
She added: “Conversely, the study actually proves why we are doing what we’re doing.
“There are so many tenements here. We don’t have as many big fancy driveways.
“We’ve built the hub for this exact reason.
“The claim is just ridiculous.”
Meanwhile, new data shows there is currently just one public electric vehicle charging point for every 4,300 drivers in Scotland.
Meanwhile, only 71 public charging points are due to be added to the current total of 703 by 2032.
