Electric vehicles

Southampton City Council currently have 46 electric vehicle chargers able to charge up to 59 vehicles a time installed across 17 locations across the city (parking charges may apply).

We have offered these on a 'free to use' trial basis since their introduction in 2018. With the increase in use and increase in energy costs we have now (as of 12 December 2022 at 1am) introduced a fee of £0.45 per kilowatt hour to access any of our Public EV Chargers.

We are also working with partners to install additional points to ensure we meet the growing demand for accessible, quick and efficient charging points across residential areas as well as city centre locations.

Locations

Six type two charging points are available at each of our five city centre multi-story car parks:

• West Park car park - ground floor
• Grosvenor Square car park - ground floor
• Bedford Place car park - level 2
• Eastgate car park - ground floor
• Marlands car park - level 3

Chargers are also available in Woolston and Bitterne. Two type two fast charging points are available at each of these car parks:

Woolston

• Woodley Road car park
• Victoria Road car park
• Oakbank Road car park
• The Colonnade car park

Bitterne

• Lances Hill
• Whites Road
• Pear Tree Gardens

You will need a charge card to use all of our charging points.

Apply for a charge card

We have two taxi-only rapid chargers installed in Lances Hill car park, Bitterne and Southbrook Road South car park on the North side of Central Station. These chargers can only be accessed by Southampton City Council registered taxis and private hire vehicles. Rapid chargers allow most electric cars to top-up their battery in less than 30 minutes.

Over the next months and years, we will be installing more chargers to continue to help more people switch to electric vehicles. Keep an eye on this page to find out where more charging points are being installed.

Zap-Map can be used to find your nearest charging point in Southampton and elsewhere.

If you are experiencing difficulty using a charge point, please email electric.vehicles@southampton.gov.uk.

Electric vehicles can help improve air quality in the city and lower your contribution to climate change.

The following incentives are offered by Southampton City Council and national government which may make it financially beneficial to upgrade to an electric vehicle:

• We are currently offering a 90% discount on any city centre season ticket for electric vehicle users
• Zero emission capable vehicles pay either no vehicle tax (VED) or a reduced rate depending on their CO2 emissions, vehicle list price and year of registration. Find out about tax benefits
• There are a range of tax incentives for business users
• Find out about plug-in car grants

The government offers grants for new plug-in vehicles (PICG) when buying a brand new low-emissions car. This grant is available through car manufactures and dealerships who pass the discount to customers. The vehicles covered by this grant must be on the government's approved list:

If you have any questions about purchasing an electric vehicle, please email electric.vehicles@southampton.gov.uk.

We now have 49 electric vehicles in our fleet as part of our fleet modernisation plan. These vehicles replace the older diesel vehicles and are now running on 100% green energy. This supports our commitment to improving air quality in Southampton. Our depots currently have 29 charging bays to ensure we have these vehicles running and supporting city services every day.