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EV revolution threatened by charger crisis: Drivers won’t switch to EVs if UK’s charging network isn’t bolstered, campaigners warn
- People want to switch from petrol to diesel but are being put off
- Warning raises questions about plan to ban sale of petrol and diesel vehicles
- AA found that only one in 50 drivers uses electric vehicles
Drivers will not switch to electric cars if the UK’s charging network is not strengthened, campaigners warn.
People want to switch from cars to petrol and diesel, but are being put off by electricity costs and the lack of charging points, the AA said.
The warning raises questions about the government’s plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, with the auto group boss claiming people will simply ‘stick’ to older cars.
Warning: People want to switch from petrol and diesel cars, but put off by electricity costs and lack of charging points
The AA found that only one in 50 drivers uses electric vehicles. Nearly three-quarters said they want to switch, with nearly 2 million planning to switch within two years, the poll found.
But AA president Edmund King said many won’t because of the lack of charging points and called on the government to expand their availability. He said: ‘For those who can’t charge at home, we need to see a reduction in VAT on street charging to make it more affordable.
“Without these infrastructure changes, there is a risk that more people will stick to older combustion engine cars after 2030.”
Last year, fewer than 9,000 public electric charging points were installed. The number of publicly available electric charging devices increased from 28,375 in January 2022 to 37,055 this month.
Nearly a third of charging points are in London, with Westminster alone having more than Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham combined.
Data suggests there are now 30 electric vehicles for every charge point, compared to 16 at the start of 2020.
In The Times, former transport secretary Geoff Hoon warned that people will not buy electric vehicles if they cannot charge them.
Labor transport spokesman Louise Haigh criticized the government for leaving “whole parts of the country behind with no clear strategy for expanding the charging infrastructure needed.”
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said: ‘We want to maximize the opportunities available to switch to electric vehicles, and we have a growing charging network that has grown at a rate of 31 per cent per year over the past three years.
‘A driver is never more than 40 kilometers away from a fast charging point along the English motorways and major A roads.’