Driving Sustainability: World’s Most Electric Vehicle-Friendly Countries

More than 6.5 million electric vehicles (EVs) have been sold worldwide¹ – and this number is expected to grow significantly over the next decade.  

It can only be accelerated by the sale of new petrol and diesel cars being phased out around the world from as soon as 2025, with Norway taking the lead. The UK is targeting 2030, with the EU’s 27 member states EU aiming for 2035.

In anticipation of this, Forbes Advisor’s car insurance experts have looked into EV-readiness among developed nations, to see which countries are best suited to EV drivers.

We’ve ranked the world’s most technologically advanced countries from 1 (best) to 25 (worst) on five key EV-relevant metrics:

• number of EV sales in 2021
• number of charging points per capita 
• average price of electricity
• percentage of energy from renewables
• road quality.

Our analysis shows Switzerland to be the most EV-friendly country in the world, followed by Austria and Denmark. The top 10 most EV-ready countries can all be found in Europe. 

The full ranking of 25 countries can be viewed below. 

Methodology

Each city was ranked from 1 to 25, with 1 being the best, and 25 being the worst, based on EV sales, the number of charging points per capita, average price of electricity, percentage of renewable energy, and road quality. Their positions were then averaged to create the overall ‘score’ or ranking (which can be seen in the final column to the right of the table). The countries were then awarded an overall score based on their average ranking across the five metrics – so the closer to an overall ranking of 1, the better the country’s overall EV-readiness.

UK outside top 10 nations

Despite being one of the better countries for its number of EV charging points, the UK failed to make it into the top 10 most EV-friendly countries overall. 

However, the UK is making progress in achieving its 2035 net zero green electricity target, with 42% of the country’s energy already coming from renewable sources². 

If you want to decrease your carbon footprint further, see our research into the best cities in the UK to own an EV. 

World stats 

Europe is setting the standard for the rest of the world when it comes to electric cars, with Switzerland topping the list thanks to its having the most consistent EV standards. 

At present a quarter (25.5%) of newly registered cars in Switzerland are electric rechargeable models, and the aim is to increase this to 50% by 2025. The government has also pledged to double the number of public-access electric charging stations within three years.³ 

Sales of electric vehicles in Austria and Denmark, the second and third ranked countries, have more than doubled over the last couple of years.^4,5 

Denmark has also announced plans to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and is introducing a number of climate friendly transportation changes, including the objective to run only fossil-fuel-free domestic flights by 2030.⁶

Last year, Norway had the highest number of EV sales per capita, with 20 cars purchased for every 1,000 people, accounting for 65% of all car sales⁷. The high numbers could be attributed to the government’s long-standing EV incentive scheme, which means drivers are exempt from various purchases taxes and VAT (25% of car value), as well as annual road traffic insurance tax.

Outside Europe, China had the most charging stations in total, with an estimated 1.1 million. However, with such a large population this equates to just 0.8 per 1,000 people, leaving the Netherlands to overtake them with an estimated 4.6 charging stations per 1,000 people. 

While Russia had the poorest infrastructure for EVs overall, and finished at the bottom of the table in 25th place, the country is the cheapest place to charge an EV, costing drivers just $2.75 to fully charge an electric vehicle⁸, as the average price for electric is $0.05 per KWh. 

For context, Luxembourg is the most expensive place to charge an EV, with electricity costing seven times as much, at $0.35 per KWH and a fully charged vehicle costing an average of $19.25. 

Almost all of Iceland’s energy is renewable (99%), followed closely by Norway (98%). In contrast to this, South Korea ranked the lowest in this regard, using only 6% renewable energy.⁹

Dutch roads were revealed to be the best to drive on, closely followed by Switzerland. Dutch road conditions could be due to around 99%¹⁰ of the population owning a bike, meaning there are fewer drivers contributing to road deterioration.

Green revolutions 

Kevin Pratt, car insurance expert at Forbes Advisor, said: “Electric vehicles are hailed by many as a cornerstone of the green revolution, so it’s fascinating to see Europe leading the way in terms of adopting and supporting the technology and supporting infrastructure. But while the commitment to EVs is not in doubt, it is likely there will be bumps in the road in the coming years.

“First, persuading the bulk of a populace to help in the transition to new technology will be a challenge. It will be interesting to see how Norwegians react to the 2025 deadline for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, and how we in the UK react in 2030. Will we actually see a surge in combustion engine vehicle sales as these deadlines approach?

“Then there is the infrastructure. How do you ensure adequate provision of charging points, for example, especially for those living in blocks of flats, apartment buildings and other accommodation that does not facilitate an at-home charger? And how do you manage demand if you have millions of cars tapping into a national grid at peak times?

“These and other issues sit within the two-pronged crisis formed by cost-of-living pressures and energy insecurity – can we afford to build and maintain a green fleet of EVs, and will we have enough power to run them? And where will that power come from? Will we still be burning fossil fuels to generate electricity to recharge those millions of batteries?

“The momentum behind EVs looks irresistible, but it is important to stay grounded and to be ready to address awkward questions attendant on such a massive societal change.”

Visit our full guide to owning an electric vehicle here.

References 

¹www.iea.org/articles/global-ev-data-explorer ²https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/go vernment/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1086800/Energy_Trends_June_2022.pdf ³https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/switzerland-aims-for-50–plug-in-vehicle-adoption/47597790  ⁴https://www.austriatech.at/assets/Uploads/Publikationen/PDF-Dateien/80c5e24942/FactsFigures_2021_08_E.pdf  ⁵https://www.dst.dk/da/Statistik/nyheder-analyser-publ/nyt/NytHtml?cid=33098&utm_source=newsletter ⁶https://cleanenergynews.ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/denmark-pledges-fossilfuelfree-domestic-flights-by–2030.html ⁷www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/electric-cars-take-two-thirds-norway-car-market-led-by-tesla-2022-01-03/ ⁸www.drive-electric.co.uk/guides/general/tesla-your-questions-answered/ ⁹https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix ¹⁰https://discerningcyclist.com/which-city-has-the-most-cyclists-statistics/