Parts of the UK are at risk of being left behind in the electric car transition, and not all of them are remote areas of the country, new research shows.

The Scottish islands and several parts of Northern Ireland dominate the top 10 list of locations with the slowest uptake of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids cars in the last five years.

However, also making the rankings is the tourist hotspot of Blackpool and one of the biggest industrial hubs in the South East of England, Milton Keynes. 

Looking at DVLA and DfT figures for all types of plug-in vehicles over the past five years, Carwow compared the number of private plug-in vehicles and battery electric vehicles in each county/district and unitary authority from Q4 2018 to Q4 2023.

The Orkneys have seen an increase of only 133 per cent in the number of plug-in vehicles over the past five years, making them the worst place in the UK for EV growth.

Blackpool, one of the most popular tourist cities in the UK - with over 20million visitors every year - saw an increase of only 303 per cent, putting it in second place.

The rest of the top five places with the least electric car growth are all areas of remoteness in either Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Shetland has the third slowest uptake of plug-in vehicles, recording just 357 per cent growth over the past five years. 

Fourth and fifth place were taken by areas of Northern Ireland - Antrim and Newtownabbey (404 per cent) and Causeway Coast and Glens (416 per cent) respectively. 

These areas both have populations of around 150,000, and are located at the very top of Northern Ireland. 

Remote areas might be lagging behind, but other parts of Scotland are seeing exceptional growth; the list of places seeing the largest growth in plug-in vehicles is dominated by Scottish regions.

Falkirk (941 per cent), Glasgow City (919 per cent) and East Dunbartonshire (873 per cent) all rank in the top 10.

Stockton-on-Tees in North East England has seen the largest growth overall, where there's been nearly a 988 per cent increase in plug-in vehicles over the last five years.

Gloucestershire didn't fair well, seeing a 422 per cent plug-in vehicle growth putting it sixth on the list of areas with the lowest EV growth.

Mid and East Antrim and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon took seventh and tenth place, with scores of 423 and 455 per cent respectively. This means that four of the 10 places in the UK with the slowest plug-in vehicle growth are in Northern Ireland.

Milton Keynes and Dundee rounded out the top 10 in eight and ninth place, even though Dundee is one of the top places in the UK for charger availability. This is likely explained by the fact they already had high EV numbers to begin with, so minimal growth has occurred since the end of 2018.

Slow EV growth in Scotland - but it has the best public charging network 

Despite Scotland dominating the list of locations with the slowest uptake of plug-in electric vehicles, it is the part of the country where drivers have best access to public charging.

Scotland is leading the way when it comes to device availability, with Dundee City having the best ratio of plug-in vehicles per charger in the UK - one for every 16 vehicles (1:16).

Five regions from the country placed in the top 10 overall, including the Highlands (1:18), West Dunbartonshire (1:21) and North Lanarkshire (1:24). 

And in a clear demonstration that even remote areas can have plenty of accessible public rapid charging, only one Scottish area ranks in the bottom 10 for charger availability - East Dunbartonshire.

In East Dunbartonshire there's only one charger for every 525 plug-in vehicles.

Only the Bracknel Forest region ranks worse, with one public rapid charger for every 619 vehicles. 

Iain Reid, head of editorial at Carwow, said: 'Clearly, if the UK is to be ready for the 2035 ban, the government needs to work on making EVs more accessible for broader parts of the country. 

'Grants on EV purchases and chargers, along with accelerated installation of public rapid chargers in more further afield areas would be a huge positive step. Otherwise, many places will continue to be left behind, ultimately making mass adoption unattainable.'