New Vauxhall and Zoopla tool shows property listings with EV chargers

Househunters worried whether they might be able to plug-in their electric car can now use a new feature that will allow them to check whether a property has EV charging pre-installed, or whether there is infrastructure nearby.

Vauxhall has teamed up with property website Zoopla to develop a new tool, which will enable users of the site to filter properties that have EV charging, as well as search for the nearest on-street EV charger – ideal for those looking to purchase a terrace house or apartment.

Research from Vauxhall suggests that 40 per cent of homeowners are planning to take EV charging into consideration when purchasing their next property. This is at odds with the fact that over a third (43 per cent) of the population doesn’t have off-road parking at home, making EV charging difficult. Adding insult to injury, the properties on Zoopla’s website that do mention having EV charging fitted only account for 1.6 per cent of listings.

Such a figure wouldn’t be all that bad if on-street chargers were abundant everywhere, however the vast majority of these are located in London or other major cities. Earlier this year, the government invested £55 million from the Treasury’s National Wealth Fund into on-street charging firm Connected Kerb, which should hopefully result in more on-street chargers being installed across the country.

Furthermore, Labour also announced a further £25 million to help councils install more cross-pavement charging solutions for those living in houses with on-street parking. This came alongside the widely publicised Electric Car Grant, which will provide a discount of up to £3,750 off the price of a new vehicle – something buyers will eventually be able to benefit from whilst using Auto Express’ Find A Car service.

Nevertheless, Vauxhall’s managing director, Steve Catlin, said: “Moving house is one of the biggest decisions most of us make in our lifetime… As EVs become an even more common sight on our roads, more and more people will be prioritising charging access when thinking about where to live.”

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