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1. Climate change and transport emissions
The Scottish Government has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2045. The largest contributor of Scotland's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is transport. According to the latest figures from 2018, transport accounted for 36% of total emissions.
Graph details
| Vehicle | Percentage of 14.8 MtCO2 emitted |
| Car | 39% |
| Lorry | 25% |
| Ship | 16% |
| Plane | 15% |
| Other | 5% |
The Scottish Government has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2045. The largest contributor of Scotland's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is transport. According to the latest figures from 2018, transport accounted for 36% of total emissions.
The UK and Scottish Governments have committed to phasing out polluting vehicles.
- From 2030, a ban on the sale of vehicles with an internal combustion engine will come into effect
- From 2035, a ban on the sale of hybrid cars and vans will follow
Transport Scotland estimates that between 500,000 and 1 million EVs will be on Scotland’s roads by 2030. This will require approximately 30,000 charge points.
Scotland’s infrastructure optimisation and grants will total £1.8 billion. The UK Government has also committed nearly £500 million in funding to support 169,000 jobs nationally.
2. EV ownership and charging infrastructure
There has been a dramatic increase from 3.2 % in 2019 to a staggering 22.2% of all new vehicle registrations in 2022. This means that more than 700,000 EVs are registered within the UK, around 30,000 of which in Scotland.
There are currently around 2,800 charge points across the country. 1,600 of which are part of the ChargePlace Scotland network, funded by Transport Scotland.
More information:
- Check out Transport Scotland's public EV charging network report
- Read the 2020 report from the European Environment Agency
EV charge points in the UK per 100,000 people
Graph details
| Place | Rapid charge points per 100,000 | All public charge points per 100,000 |
| Northern Ireland | 1.2 | 18 |
| Scotland | 12.9 | 52 |
| Wales | 5.3 | 33 |
| England | 7.5 | 43 |
| United Kingdom | 7.7 | 42 |
3. Tourism and transport
The switch to EVs will mean a sizable impact to Scotland's emissions.
The vast majority (48%) of all visitors travelling to Scotland arrive by car. This includes either their own car, their friends’, their family’s or a hire car. Domestic visitors favour driving. 64% arrive of them by car, whereas only a quarter (24%) of European visitors do.
All those domestic drivers, will switch to EVs over the course of the next couple of decades.
EVs are also becoming more and more widespread on mainland Europe too. This is especially true for key visitor markets such as the Netherlands, Germany and France.
Offering EV charge points as part of your tourism business will thus be essential. It will also make your business more attractive to environmentally conscious travellers.
Graph details
Travelling to Scotland
| Visitors arriving to Scotland by car* | Percentage |
| All visitors | 48% |
| UK visitors | 64% |
| EU visitors | 24% |
Travelling around Scotland
| Kind of car visitors use | Percentage |
| Own car | 49% |
| Friends/family car | 13% |
| Hire car | 16% |
*Refers to own, family / friends car or hire car
Source: VisitScotland research
4. Business benefits of installing a charge point
We expect an increased number of visitors travelling to and around Scotland in EVs. Electric vehicles will become more and more mainstream in domestic and international markets.
The country should see demand increase for easily accessible EV charge points. This makes them a more frequently searched for and requested facility.
This provides a great opportunity for tourism businesses to include EV charging in their offering. You can either provide them yourself or inform visitors of the nearest charge point.
Business benefits of installing a charge point:
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Attract customers
You could attract a specific customer target market that businesses without an EV charge point cannot reach.
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Longer stays
It could lead to your visitors staying longer. For example, as EV users are charging their car, they may come into your business or stay longer and spend more money in your cafe as they wait.
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Green credentials
You improve your own green credentials.
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Sustainable customers
You make it easier for customers to go green.
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Futureproof
You can help to futureproof your business and Scottish tourism.
Electric vehicle is charging
Image credit Energy Saving Trust
5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
An electric vehicle (EV), or plug-in vehicle, is a vehicle with a battery that you can plug in to charge. Such a vehicle can be either partially or fully powered by this battery.
All EVs are capable of zero tailpipe emissions. Depending on the type and the model, however, their pure electric range will vary. EVs can either eliminate or greatly reduce the need to burn fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) for powering transport.
When the vehicle is running on electricity, there is no localised contribution to CO2 emissions - one of the main drivers of climate change. When this electricity has been generated from renewable sources, the carbon impact of driving is close to zero. EVs offer more efficient energy consumption. They also have lower impacts on air quality and noise when compared to internal combustion engine vehicles.
There are three different types of EVs on the market:
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Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are only powered by an electric motor(s). They have no internal combustion engine. Their driving ranges vary between 100 - 400 miles.
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Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) are powered by either an electric motor, a petrol / diesel engine or a combination of both. They have two separate drive trains and typically have a pure electric range of between 20 - 50 miles.
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Range Extender Electric Vehicles (REEV/REx) have a small petrol or diesel engine. The engine charges the electric battery when it's necessary to increase the driving range. But it never powers the vehicle motor(s) directly.
Please check out the LEVC TX electric taxi for reference. It has a pure electric range of 64 miles, extendable to 318 miles when using the engine to recharge. Besides taxis, REEVs are uncommon in the UK, with previous releases by BMW (i3) and Vauxhall (Ampera) no longer for sale as new vehicles.
The most common place for people to charge an EV is at home, with public charging infrastructure the next most common. Many people can also charge at work as increasing numbers of businesses install chargers.
Public charge points provide a valuable alternative for EV users without access to a home or workplace charger. Convenience is a key attribute for siting these. You may find them:
- "on-street", close to where people live and work
- At "destinations" with amenities where people plan to spend a bit of time
- Beside main roads to support "en-route" charging for those taking longer journeys
Tourism businesses with an EV charge point can provide their customers an extension of the public network. Accommodation providers able to offer overnight charging when away from home. Attractions, activity providers and food and drink businesses may provide other charging opportunities. Think of convenient "destination" or "en-route" charging opportunities.
| Charge point type | Power level | Vehicle range added in 15 minutes* | Charge time from 0 - 80%** | Typical unit installation cost*** | Suitable locations |
| SLOW | Up to 3.7kW (AC) | 3 miles | 13 hours | £1,500 (single outlet) | Home / work / accommodation / on-street |
| FAST | 7-22kW (AC) | 6 - 20 miles | 3 - 7 hours | £7,000 - £11,000 (dual outlet) | Home/ work / accommodation/on-street / leisure areas, hospitality and attractions |
| RAPID | 43kW (AC) / 50kW (DC) | 44 miles | 1 hour | £37,000 (triple outlet) | Leisure areas, hospitality and attractions / major road networks |
| ULTRA-RAPID | 100 - 360kW (DC) | 87 - 313 miles | 8 - 30 minutes | £60,000+ (dual outlet) | Major road networks |
*assuming a driving efficiency of 3.48 miles / kWh
**assuming a 60kWh battery capacity
***excluding DNO costs and any ongoing costs for maintenance, servicing and operation
Other technical and practical considerations:
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AC / DC
Charge points can be classified as either AC or DC. This depends on where the power inversion from the grid’s AC electricity to the EV battery’s required DC electricity takes place.
An AC charger will make use of the vehicle’s on-board inverter to provide DC power to the battery. DC chargers invert grid power from AC to DC within the charge point itself and as such tend to be bulkier and more expensive kit.
Typically, AC charging means lower powered charging applications whereas DC means higher power.
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Single / three phase supply
A single-phase power supply is enough for the lower end of AC powered charge points up to and including 7kW. For higher power AC or DC applications, you will need three phase power.
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Connector compatibility
Almost all EVs in Europe will have a Type 2 connector for AC charging. Most EV models will have a CCS connector for their DC charging, except for some Nissan and Mitsubishi models which use CHAdeMO. Find more info on charging connectors on zap-map.com.
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Tethered / untethered
For public-facing AC charge points, its most common for untethered models. This way, the driver can plug in their own Type 2 cable.
Public DC charge points always come tethered. Normally with both a CCS and CHAdeMO cable and sometimes with extra capability for AC charging, at either 22 or 43kW.
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Wall / ground mounted
For slow and fast charge points, there may be the possibility to fix the unit onto a wall. Alternatively, a ground mounted solution may be appropriate, particularly in a car park further from the building. Rapid and ultra-rapid units are always ground mounted.
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Single / dual socket
For slow and fast charge points, units may be procured as either single or dual socket, i.e. capable of charging either one or two vehicles at a time. Dual sockets are likely to be a more future-proof solution. They will avoid the need for a further installation if demand increases. But they do need careful placement to ensure that two parking spaces can access the unit.
Choosing what charge point is best suited for your business depends on what power supply you have in your property:
- Single-phase domestic / residential buildings
- Three-phase commercial / industrial facilities
It is further determined by your type of customer and the length of their stay at your business.
Check out which charger is best for your business:
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Rapid charger
Best for food and drink businesses or locations where customers stay for shorter periods of time.
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Fast charger
Best for:
- Visitor attractions
- Activity providers
- Hospitality businesses
- Other places where visitors stay for a few hours
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Slow charger
Best for accommodation providers or places where customers will park their car overnight.
For the most part, yes. Almost all EVs in Europe will have a Type 2 connector for plugging into any AC charge point. In Scotland, public DC charge points will have both CCS and CHAdeMO tethered charging cables. This facilitates rapid charging for any BEV on the market today. Although in other countries, rapid chargers may be missing one of these connectors.
The main exception is that most PHEVs do not have rapid charging capability. This owes to their smaller battery size. This smaller capacity means that it takes considerably less time to AC charge than it would for most BEVs.
Tesla’s superchargers are currently only accessible to Tesla drivers, but this may change soon.
The speed at which a specific EV model will depend on the rating of its on-board charger for AC and DC, rather than the rating of the charge point. For example, a Nissan LEAF can charge on a 22kW AC charge point but will struggle to charge at a 6.6kW charge point.
The EV owner will know what chargers they can use. Your installer should be able to assist your business with information on what kind of charger will best suit your location.
For more information on the specific charger types, read the Zap-Map EV charging guides.
This will depend on the unit cost of electricity (£/kWh) charged by your supplier. It may also vary throughout the day, depending on your tariff structure.
Additionally, charging costs vary across EV models. This will be dependent on:
- The size of the battery
- The battery’s depletion level when plugged in
- The charging speed
- How long the EV is connected
You can use the following formula can to determine the cost of a charging session. Cost of charging (£) = unit cost of electricity (£/kWh) x energy consumed (kWh).
For example:
A BEV with a 60kWh battery capacity requires an 80% (48kWh) overnight charge. Assuming a unit electricity cost in early 2022 of £0.28/kWh, cost of charging = 48kWh x £0.28 = £13.44.
Some of your customers might expect charging to be included in your parking / accommodation prices. Others expect there to be a surplus charge for plugging in the EV.
How you cover your electricity costs is at your discretion. Just make sure you clearly communicate your set up and charges, ensuring your customers are well-informed.
Some funding opportunities might say that you are allowed to charge for the specific energy consumption. But it will also say that you're not to "overcharge" and make a profit.
It's possible for people to plug a dedicated charging cable into a normal 3-pin electrical socket, but this is not a recommended way of charging EVs. It imposes a significant safety risk, as well as having insurance implications. Instead, it's recommended that vehicles only be charged via a dedicated circuit.
ommodation providers it may be impractical to track charging behaviours. This is especially true for non-serviced, self-catering accommodations. It's vital that such businesses inform customers of the nearest charge points. Otherwise, customers might charge their vehicles via domestic sockets.
Make sure that you clearly promote all facilities of your property / venue on:
- Your website
- Your visitscotland.com web listing
- Your social media platforms
You can also add this information to sites like Zap Map to increase the discoverability of your EV charge point.
Don't have an EV charge point installed at your property? We highly recommend that you actively promote where the nearest charge point to your business is.
Check out the following two links to websites with up-to-date charge point locations:
More information on payment options for international visitors:
CargePlace Scotland provides the country’s largest public EV charge point network with over 2,000 charge points. In order for an EV driver to access the CPS chargers, they would need to register an account and order an RFID Card.
You'll need a UK address and bank account to register CPS access (RFID) cards. Hence they're not currently available to international visitors.
If a visitor to Scotland needs to start a charge, they can activate chargers via ChargePlace Scotland's webpay.
Charge points on other networks might have other access or sign up criteria.
There are currently many funding options available. There is a high demand and volume of applications to the funds. So, these are constantly updated and might vary in funding amounts and application criteria.
Want to know more on:
- The eligibility criteria
- Approved installers
- The application process
Then please visit Energy Saving Trust, or browse business support services in Scotland.
6. External links
Please check out these five websites for more info on EVs and EV charge points:
Transport Scotland
www.transport.gov.scotThe national transport agency for Scotland, delivering the Scottish Government's vision for transport.
Zap-Map statistics
www.zap-map.comZap-Map is the UK’s leading app and digital platform for EV drivers to search for charge points, plan longer journeys…
NetZero Nation
www.netzeronation.scotNet Zero Scotland informs the public about how Scotland is trying to get net zero by 2045.
International Council on Clean Transportation
www.theicct.orgIt's the ICCT's mission to improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of road, marine and air…
Energy Saving Trust
www.energysavingtrust.org.ukEnergy Saving Trust is an independent organisation that is hard at work to address the climate emergency.