Government commits to ten-fold increase in EV public charging by 2030

The UK Government committed £500m to increase the number of public electric vehicle (EV) charge points by a 10-fold.

Under the new Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy released tonight, EV owners will see public charge points go from 30,000 to 300,000 by 2030.

In addition to public infrastructure, the government will also focus on rolling out super-fast charging points on motorways by 2035.

“Clean transport isn’t just better for the environment, but is another way we can drive down our dependence on external energy supplies,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“It will also create new high-skilled jobs for our automotive and energy sectors and ultimately secure more sustainable and affordable motoring for all.”

New legislation – including a requirement from operators to provide customers with the exact status of devices – is also being introduced.

The announcement was tepidly welcomed by the automotive industry, as many stakeholders believe the gap between EV demand and infrastructure will be too big.

“While the government’s expectation of having 300,000 charge points available by 2030 might sound impressive, we are concerned that this is not going to be sufficient with drivers looking to switch to an electric vehicle en masse ahead of the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars,” said RAC’s head of policy Nicholas Lyes.

Commenting on the news, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) chief executive Mike Hawes echoed Lyes’s words.

“Every stakeholder will have to play their part in this transition but, if industry and consumers are to have the certainty they need to invest, commensurate and binding targets must be set for infrastructure provision.”

Hawes called yesterday for more EV public infrastructure to ease motorists’ “charging anxiety,” City A.M. reported.

“Last year, it was about one for every 16 EVs on the road, this year it’s more likely to be one for every 32,” e Hawes told journalists during a press conference. “Things are getting worse because of that pace of market transition for EV sales. We need infrastructure to catch up.”