For many, transitioning to an electric vehicle is more than just changing the car you drive: it’s a brand new lifestyle. But which cities are providing the infrastructure to support that lifestyle?
Curious to identify the European cities most considerate of electric motorists, Uswitch.com created an index evaluating the number of free EV charging sites, average energy prices, EV charging consumption, and the distance from one EV charger to another. After using this index to assign 33 European cities an EV Incentive Score out of 10, they determined the best cities in Europe to own an electric vehicle
The Top 10 Cities to own an Electric Vehicle
| Rank | Country | City | Percentage of free chargers available | Average price/kW (Euros) | Average charger power consumption (kW) | Average distance between chargers (km) | EV Incentive Score /10 |
| 1 | Iceland | Reykjavik | 65% | €0.29 | 26kW | 0.55km | 7.94 |
| 2 | UK | Glasgow | 92% | €0.32 | 17kW | 1.10km | 7.54 |
| 3 | Portugal | Lisbon | 1% | €0.17 | 24kW | 0.76km | 7.31 |
| 4 | Hungary | Budapest | 54% | €0.33 | 25kW | 1.03km | 7.14 |
| 5 | Norway | Oslo | 8% | €0.31 | 9kW | 0.61km | 7.04 |
| 6 | Spain | Barcelona | 60% | €0.34 | 18kW | 1.01km | 7.02 |
| 7 | The Netherlands | The Hague | 4% | €0.30 | 14kW | 0.48km | 6.81 |
| 8 | Czech Republic | Prague | 9% | €0.26 | 32kW | 1.18km | 6.78 |
| 9 | Belgium | Antwerp | 44% | €0.37 | 17kW | 0.89km | 6.76 |
| 10 | Finland | Helsinki | 16% | €0.26 | 20kW | 1.09km | 6.63 |
You can find the full dataset of all 33 cities here.
Reykjavik is the European city best equipped to support electric vehicles, boasting an EV Incentive Score of 7.94/10. The Icelandic capital consistently ranks high across the index, with an especially low average distance between chargers (0.55km). This is second only to The Hague (The Netherlands), where the distance from one EV charger is less than 500m (0.48km) from another: 13% shorter than Reykjavik. On average, 65% of EV chargers in the Icelandic city are also free of charge, so electric motorists will rarely worry about the cost of recharging.
With an EV Incentive Score of 7.54/10, Glasgow is the second best European city to own an electric car, Uswitch.com can reveal. While there is an average of 1.10km between chargers – double that of Reykjavik – they are almost always free. In fact, Glasgow has the most free EV chargers of all cities analysed at 92%, 136% more than those in London (39%).
Portugal’s Lisbon places third, with an EV Incentive Score of 7.31/10. In spite of the lowest percentage of free chargers from the study (1%), Lisbon is elevated to third as drivers enjoy the cheapest price per kilowatt in Europe at €0.17/kW. Impressively, this is 35% cheaper than Prague in second place (€0.26/kW), and 54% cheaper than prices in Madrid.
Source: Uswitch
