The number of rural petrol stations is about to be overtaken by electric chargers, with plug-in points replacing pumps in some villages.
Plug-in points will replace pumps in some villages. Picture: Steven Scott Taylor
There are more than 550 charging points across Scotland but fewer than 700 non-supermarket filling stations.
There were virtually no chargers five years ago, while petrol forecourts have declined by a quarter over the last decade.The Petrol Retailers Association said one third of independent filling stations, many rural, had closed.
By contrast, the Electric Vehicle Association Scotland (Evas) said the number of rapid chargers, which take around 20 minutes, had doubled in the last year alone to around 150.
Carplus, which promotes car-sharing clubs, said one in five of their vehicles were electric – the highest in the UK.
Spokeswoman Beate Kubitz said:
“Many rural filling stations have disappeared, so people living in remote areas have to plan and make detours to fill up with petrol and diesel.
“The charge point network is growing rapidly and makes driving an electric car longer distances possible.”
Read more: Scotsman