REVEALED: The Most EV-Friendly Christmas Days Out in the UK

Christmas is the one time of the year to enjoy some of the most fun activities with friends and family, such as Christmas markets, ice skating and visiting Santa in his grotto.

But, with a whopping 1,000,000 plug-in cars in the UK many of us will be wondering if travelling and visiting various attractions will be feasible in an electric car.

To help you make the most of this season, Goodbye Car has discovered the top UK locations for a Christmas day out for EV owners.

Birmingham crowned the most EV-friendly city at Christmas

According to the index, Birmingham scored 48 points out of 64 across all four metrics we looked at (Christmas market reviews, the number of EV chargers within one mile of Christmas activities, average cost of the charger, and % of fast or rapid chargers). 

Birmingham scored the highest marks for online reviews of the Christmas market, with an average review of 4.2. Not only that, but Brum gained top points for the number of chargers within a mile radius of the Christmas market, Santa’s grottos, and outdoor ice rink. In fact, the city offers 254 electric vehicle chargers near Christmas activities.

Belfast offers the cheapest EV charging, making it the second-best Christmas day out for EV drivers

Belfast is hot on the heels of Birmingham, scoring just one point less with 47 marks. It scored the best for the cost of electric car charging, priced at just 10.8p per kWh.

The city scored relatively high for the percentage of fast or rapid chargers available within a mile radius of Christmas things-to-do. Of the 62 chargers available 46.8% of them were fast or rapid.

Bristol is the third-best EV-friendly city for Christmas activities

According to the data analysed, Bristol takes third place for the most EV-friendly Christmas day out with 45 marks.

Bristol earned its place in the top three as it’s the second-best city for the number of electric car chargers. Bristol has a whopping 132 chargers within a mile of Christmas activities.

The city scored high for the % of fast or rapid chargers, too. With 57% of the chargers analysed being fast or rapid.

Edinburgh named fourth best Christmas day out for electric car drivers

Edinburgh is the fourth best Christmas day out for EVs out of the UK locations analysed. The city gained most of its marks from the cost of its electric chargers. On average, EV drivers only need to pay 17p per kWh for a charger nearby Christmas activities.

Edinburgh scored relatively high for the number of chargers, with 77 available within a walking distance of the Christmas market, outdoor ice rink, and Santa’s grottos.

Sheffield is the BEST for its share of fast or rapid chargers

Although Birmingham is the best city overall for EV drivers at Christmas, Sheffield has the biggest share of fast or rapid chargers.

Of the cities analysed, 86% of Sheffield’s EV chargers near Christmas things-to-do are fast or rapid chargers. So, if you’re not one for waiting around you’ll be best placed visiting Sheffield this Christmas.

Norwich and Cardiff are the least EV-friendly cities at Christmas 

Norwich scored the lowest marks with 21 out of 64, making this city the least EV-friendly at Christmas. The city gained just four marks for the number of EV chargers, and the share of fast/rapid chargers at 22%. However, the city places fourth for the cost of the chargers, priced at just 23p per kWh.

Cardiff is the second least EV-friendly city at Christmas with 25 points. The city scored the lowest for the average cost of electric car chargers, costing EV drivers a whopping 51.4p per kWh. Cardiff didn’t score too well for the number of chargers either, with just 29 available nearby Christmas activities. Despite this, the Christmas market in Cardiff gains great praise online with 4-star reviews.

Want to know other places you can travel in your EV? Check out the UK movie road trips.

Methodology 

Goodbye Car analysed 16 cities because of their geographical spread, cities that do not have a Christmas market in 2022 were removed. Data was collected using Tripadvisor, Google reviews, Facebook reviews, Yelp and Zap-Map. Each metric was then scored out of 16, with the best figure getting 16 points and the worst 1 point.