There are expected to be 50,000 electric cars in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead by 2035, a council report has claimed.

A surge in demand for electric cars will see councillors consider plans to provide more charging points in the borough at a meeting next week.

The borough is currently home to 4,000 electric cars – a number which council transport lead Geoff Hill said is “growing exponentially.”

A more than tenfold increase of the current figure is expected by 2035 – the year from which new petrol and diesel vehicle sales will be banned – according to a report councillors will debate at cabinet.

Councillor Hill said: “Increasingly, residents are expecting to find convenient electric vehicle charging infrastructure available in the borough that enables them to switch to and drive an EV with confidence sooner.”

The report added that transport is the area’s single biggest contributor to climate change, with 219kt of carbon dioxide emitted across the borough in 2020 alone.

It reads: “Whilst charging on private property is usually cheapest and most convenient, not all residents and businesses can charge in this way, and not all the time.

“To meet 2035 demand, the borough will need to have introduced approximately 600 on-street charging sockets and 125 charging sockets in council car parks across the borough.

“This is an increase from 38 on-street chargepoints and four car parks with chargepoints today.”

The officers’ report recommends the use of the Oxford Dynamic Purchasing System for procurement and that a tender package should be prepared to identify chargepoint provider partners.

The council is also expected to submit a bit for £927,000 of capital funding from the Department for Transport to help rollout the new charging infrastructure.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a delay in September on the planned ban on the sale of new purely petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035.

Announcing the delay, Mr Sunak said: “It should be you the consumer that makes that choice, not government forcing you to do it.

“Because the upfront cost is still high – especially for families struggling with the cost of living. Small businesses are worried about the practicalities.

“And we’ve got further to go to get that charging infrastructure truly nationwide.”

The officers’ report recommendations will be considered by cabinet on Wednesday, November 29.