New research by leading online parking portal ParkingSpace.co.uk confirms that the UK has fallen out of love with diesel vehicles while electric cars are on a rapid rise. The study looked at the parking booking data which shows what type of vehicle is being parked at one of any of its 250,000 parking spaces. The data revealed that diesel vehicles are down by 15 percent from 2019 to 2020 to 44 percent of vehicles.
Parking bookings for pure electric vehicles, some of which are also available with a charging option so drivers can top up their battery, are up by an impressive 72 percent for the same period. Hybrid vehicle parking bookings have also increased by 58 percent.
Harrison Woods, managing director at YourParkingSpace.co.uk, said: “Our data clearly shows that more and more Brits are turning their backs on diesel vehicles. On the other hand, YourParkingSpace.co.uk has also seen a sharp increase in the number of motorists looking for a parking space to leave their electric vehicle.
“This trend is something that YourParkingSpace.co.uk takes seriously and we are introducing more spaces on a daily basis where electric vehicle owners also have the option of pre-booking a charging facility at the same time.”
Geographically, London is leading the electric rush, with YourParkingSpace.co.uk data showing that parking bookings for them more than doubled from 2019 to 2020. Conversely, the number of diesel vehicle parking bookings was down in every city, apart from Aberdeen, with a decline as high as 25 percent in Liverpool.
The ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK is less than 10 years away, which is no doubt hastening the shift to other low carbon and zero-emissions forms of transport.
Woods added: “It’s therefore important that the charging infrastructure will be able to cope a significant increase in electric vehicles. One solution is for homeowners with an empty driveway and electric vehicle charging facility to rent it out to other motorists when they are not using it on such pre-bookable parking platforms as YourParkingSpace.co.uk.”
