UK to spend $27M on EV chargers… but is it enough?
Petrol and diesel ban
The announcement comes almost three months after the governmentpledged to ban salesof new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, but doubts linger over whether the pace of charging rollout will meet expected demand.
Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for more than 10% of all new car registrations in 2020, more than a threefold increase from 2019.
In its annualReport on Motoringreleased last month,the RACfound that 9% of 3,000 respondents said they intended to make a switch to electric the next time they change their vehicle – up from 6% in 2019 and 3% a year earlier.
Cost remains a significant barrier, however, withalmost eight in ten UK motorists(78%) thinking that electric cars are still too expensive when compared to conventional vehicles of a similar size.
[Read:How much does it cost to buy, own, and run an EV? It’s not as much as you think]
Five times more chargers needed
A newreportby UK think tankPolicy Exchangehas found that 400,000 public chargers will be needed by 2030, and installations will need to accelerate five-fold annually over the next decade.
It also warned that without intervention, rural areas and small towns were at risk of becoming ‘charging blackspots.’
The report made several recommendations for the government to meet the demand, including contracting private firms to install chargers in areas where they are sparse and funding dedicated teams at local councils.
It also said that the maximum price at government-supported chargers should be regulated to avoid providers exploiting local monopolies.
Report author and Policy Exchange Senior Research Fellow Ed Birkett said: “Companies are rolling out charge-points at a record rate, but there’s a risk that some areas of the country won’t get enough charge-points and will be left behind.
“We’re concerned about patchy deployment of charge-points, which runs against the government’s plans for leveling up and a strong and connected Union.”
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Story byCities Today
Cities Today is the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders.Cities Today is the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders.
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