News & Features

Our Accessible EV Europe Report is Now Live!

Posted in News on Wednesday, July 8th, 2026

The EV infrastructure sector is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. Despite being introduced during a period where inclusive design and accessibility are far better understood and acknowledged, accessibility has remained an afterthought rather than a core requirement.

At DMUK we wanted to document the real-life challenges of travelling abroad in an electric vehicle as a disabled person. By doing so we could highlight the urgent need for inclusive EV infrastructure to relevant departments, and improve understanding of, and confidence in, EV infrastructure among disabled drivers ahead of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate.

The Accessible EV Europe & England Road Trip was led by Anjna Patel, 68, DMUK member and trustee, who has lived with severe rheumatoid arthritis for over two decades. Travelling with Anjna was DMUK colleague Zoe Rush, who provided media, reporting and general support.

The project ran from Tuesday 5th May until Wednesday 13th May 2026. The project included 6 driving days through England, France and Spain, from Great Barr, Birmingham to Torrevieja, Alicante, in a fully vehicle, Volkswagen ID.4, provided by AVC (Accessible Vehicle Club).  The project was a success in recording data. Anjna and Zoe drove nearly 3,000 miles and successfully charged at 24 chargers whilst also abandoning several chargers due to digital interface issues and full bays. The route and order of chargers they stopped at can be seen in the image below.

At each charging location they completed an audit using a bespoke assessment. The audit criteria were developed with reference to the Safer Parking Accessible EV Accreditation, owned by DMUK and Police CPI, which supports the requirements of PAS1899:2022.

The trip had been intentionally planned to enable them to charge without significantly deviating from their route, which resulted in them being able to test charger units managed by multiple companies. A few of the well-recognised companies they charged at included Ionity, Powerdot, Siemens, Tesla, Zunder, Gridserve and Allego.

Following the return of their trip we’re happy to announce the ‘Accessible EV Europe Road Trip’ report is now available. Which provides in-depth information and results documented on their trip includes:

• Chargers in different countries
• Frequent inconsistent design challenges between chargers
• Audits completed at each individual charger
• Anjna’s best and worst charging experiences
• Driving an EV as a disabled person
• Recommendations for physical and digital improvements to charging stations and to EVs

Of the 24 chargers audited, 11 chargers received a positive score for the overall experience and accessibility of the bays, however the audit results reveal all the chargers had some form of accessibility issues. Some of the accessibility issues encountered during the trip include:

1.      Weight of charger & cable management

2.      Force required to use the chargers

3.      Size of the bay

4.      Lack of waiting areas by the chargers

5.      Obstacles surrounding bays, including bollards, kerbs and lack of shelter

6.      Lack of on-site support, isolated locations and lack of security of the site

7.      Digital interface issues - lack of buttons, font type not being accessible, confusion between phone and charge screens

8.      Payment issues

9.      Height of components on the charge unit not matching the audit requirements for sitting and standing use

10.  Lack of sufficient shelter

11.  Requiring assistance to find alternative reliable chargers via apps

12.  Range anxiety was heightened by risk of the charger not working and the restriction of needing to recharge every 2 hours

13.  All bays in use and lorry blocking bays

14.  Designated disabled bays but with no clear signs of further accessibility thought

Disabled Motoring UK hopes the findings will highlight the urgent need for inclusive EV infrastructure, increase awareness of the barriers disabled motorists continue to face, and improve confidence among disabled drivers by demonstrating that long-distance EV travel is possible. At DMUK we are calling on charge point operators (CPOs), local authorities, EV manufacturers and policymakers to act on the report's recommendations to ensure disabled motorists are not left behind in the transition to electric vehicles.

Findings from the trip are now available in the ‘Accessible EV Europe Road Trip’ report which can be found here - www.disabledmotoring.org/the-route-to-accessible-evs/accessible-ev-europe-road-trip.

Disabled Motoring UK CEO, Graham Footer said - "This project showed that disabled motorists can make long-distance journeys in an electric vehicle, but they often have to overcome barriers that non-disabled drivers simply don't face. We found examples of good practice, but no charging network we used was consistently accessible. We hope this report provides practical evidence that helps charge point operators, manufacturers, and policymakers make accessibility a standard feature of future EV infrastructure."

If you would like to see the information from each charger they can be found in a variety of locations:

• On Euan’s Guide website
• Via Google Maps
• On our YouTube channel- @DMUKTeam – videos from each audit will be uploaded over the coming month
• Within the report

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