Third of electric car owners frustrated by same problem with public charging in car parks
As more electric cars enter the UK roads, owners have shared the must frustrating parts about charging up their EVs.
The supermarket vehicle charging service Sainsbury's Smart Charge has shared the most frustrating elements of replenishing the battery on an electric car.
With over one million electric vehicles now on the UK roads, more motorists are swapping the petrol pump for a public car charger. Whilst charging times have improved vastly, research from the company has found there are still plenty of frustrating parts to charging up an EV.
Trish Devlin, customer director at Sainsbury's Smart Charge, noted that the study has helped the supermarket improve availability for electric vehicle owners.
She explained: "We know that the rules around EV charging can be a minefield, but Smart Charge aims to make everyday life easier for drivers. We’re always listening to our customers and want to help solve common problems, creating a better experience for all.
“Smart Charge is designed to offer a unique and convenient service, providing wide and accessible parking bays, an easy-to-use contactless payment system and plenty of practicality for customers."
According to Sainsbury's Smart Charge's study, the most common bugbear for electric car owners is the lack of charging availability near them.
According to the EV charger location service Zap-Map, there were 64,775 electric car charging points across the UK during June 2024. However, whilst this is an increase of 46 percent compared to 12 months prior, the vast majority are located in large cities such as London.
As a result, electric car owners in more rural areas typically need to drive further to find a public EV charger and may need to wait in a lengthy queue before they can use it.
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Sainsbury's Smart Charge also found that many electric car owners are frustrated by motorists who leave their vehicle plugged in for too long.
Often referred to as 'plug hogging', this typically occurs when electric car owners leave their vehicle unattended whilst it is charging, potentially leaving other drivers unable to charge.
To prevent this, drivers should avoid charging the battery to 100 percent unless it is necessary and give themselves a time limit to get back to their car by.
Top 10 bugbears at EV charging stations:
- Lack of charging availability - 35 percent
- Plug hogging - 34 percent
- Long wait times to charge up - 31 percent
- Badly parked surrounding vehicles - 29 percent
- Messy charging cables - 26 percent
- Vehicles pretending to charge up - 24 percent
- Drivers not following instructions - 22 percent
- Littering - 20 percent
- Drivers engaging in small talk - 18 percent
- Drivers trying to stop others from charging - 17 percent
