University electric vehicle ownership way above national average

UK universities have surged ahead of the national average in terms of the number of purely electric powered vehicles that they own.

A freedom of information request sent to 116 institutions found that 7.73 per cent of all university owned vehicles are purely electric powered, compared to just 0.11 per cent across all UK vehicle registrations.

Of the 114 institutions which responded to the request, made by intelligentcarleasing.com, 58.77 per cent owned at least one electric vehicle. Of those who do not currently own any electric vehicles, many noted their plans to invest in such technology in the near future.

Pete McAllister, who conducted the research, said: “With a fast growing green energy sector in the UK electric vehicles are fast becoming an all-round low carbon driving option. It’s brilliant to see such a high adoption rate amongst the UK’s universities and hopefully this is a good indicator of the broader motoring picture in years to come.”

Top 11 universities in terms of electric vehicles as a % of their fleet

Universities with no electric vehicles

• University of Abertay, Dundee
• Anglia Ruskin University
• Bishop Grosseteste University
• Bournemouth University
• University of Brighton
• University of Bristol
• University of Cardiff
• University of Chichester
• City University London
• University of Edinburgh
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• Glyndŵr University
• Goldsmiths University of London
• University of Hertfordshire
• University of Huddersfield
• University of Hull
• King’s College London
• Leeds Metropolitan University
• University of Lincoln
• University of London
• London Business School
• London Metropolitan University
• London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
• London South Bank University
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• Newport, University of Wales
• University of Northampton
• University of Nottingham
• University of Plymouth
• University of Portsmouth
• Queen Margaret University
• Robert Gordon University
• Roehampton University
• Saint George’s, University of London
• University of Salford
• Sheffield Hallam University
• University of Stirling
• University of Strathclyde
• Swansea Metropolitan University
• University of West London
• University College London
• University of Cumbria
• University of the Arts
• University of the Western Scotland
• University of Westminster
• University of Wolverhampton
• York St John University

Click here to download the full results