A new study has revealed that the Orkney Islands are the best area in Scotland to own an electric car.

The study by CarGuide analysed the number of electric car charging points on ZapMap and ONS data to establish which local authority in Scotland has the highest number of charging points per 100,000 population.

The data found that the Orkney Islands has the highest number of charging points per 100,000 people, at 178.6. This comes as a result of 40 total charging points in the area and a population of 22,400, making it the most accessible area in Scotland to own an electric car.

Coming in second is Stirling with 126.5 charging points per 100,000 people and a total of 119 charging points. While this is significantly more than the Orkney Islands, the severe difference in population means that the little island still reigns supreme.

East Lothian ranks as the third best area with 118.6 charging devices per 100,000 people as a result of 128 public charging devices and a population of 107,900. East Lothian also has the eighth highest number of charging points at 128, below areas such as Perth and Kinross and Dundee.

Taking the fourth spot is Na h-Eileanan Siar with 105.7 charging points per 100,000 and Argyll and Bute being the fifth best local authority to own an electric vehicle with 100.7 charging devices per 100,000 people.

Some fairly impressive numbers on the positive end of the scale – speaking to the significant progress being made in EV infrastructure within Scotland. Conversely, the bottom of the list shows that there’s still a long way to go.

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The worst area in Scotland to own an electric car is revealed to be East Dunbartonshire, which has the lowest number of accessible charging points per population with only 23 per 100,000 available. With a total of 25 public charging devices across the area and a population of 108,750, Bolton is the area with the least access to charging points for electric vehicle owners.

East Renfrewshire is the second-worst, with a population of 96,060 and only 24 charging points across the area. This equates to 25 public charging devices per 100,000 – the second lowest number of all areas analysed.

The local authority of West Lothian has the third-worst rate of charging points for electric vehicle owners with only 25.6 charging points per 100,000. West Lothian has a population of 183,820 and 47 total public charging devices, ten of which are rapid chargers.

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