The future of urban EV charging

Ford's team of data scientists have been busy using big data analysis to identify the most beneficial places to locate new rapid-charging points.

There are now more than a million electric cars in Europe and it is expected that worldwide, electric vehicles will account for the majority of all new car sales and a third of all fleets by 2040. But there are already concerns around a shortfall of charging points.

Based on more than 1 million kilometres of real-world driving data from Greater London, Ford's data scientists have pinpointed places that could help drivers integrate charging into their daily drives, rather than making special journeys to out-of-the-way locations. And their algorithm suggests this could be done with only a relatively small number of additional strategically positioned rapid chargers.

It is an approach that Ford envisage could be extended to further cities, with data coming from connected vehicles, enabling those cities to more effectively plan how to spend their infrastructure budget.

Previously Ford's far-reaching City Data Solutions Report revealed how big data could help make cities safer by highlighting where future traffic incidents might happen. And last week Ford revealed an extensive range of new vehicles under a new Ford Hybrid banner.

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