Last updated on January 10th, 2023 at 06:51 pm
Research by New AutoMotive has identified the lack of electric cars on British roads as one of the biggest hurdles to EV charge point growth, rather than vice versa.
The transport research organisation New AutoMotive surveyed 24 companies involved in the manufacture, installation, service providing and operation of home, work, and public infrastructure.
The respondents said that increasing demand for charging services was essential to ensuring the network continues to grow. Without more EV drivers on the roads, the UK’s public EV charging network will grow at a slower rate, it said.
The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate is the government’s most effective means of ensuring the supply of EVs into Britain meets growing demand. Ensuring supply will help increase EV uptake, which in turn will mean that the UK’s public charging network continues to expand at pace, it said.
“Contrary to popular belief, the UK's charging infrastructure rollout is being held back by EV uptake, rather than the other way around,” said Ciara Cook, Research & Policy Officer at New AutoMotive. “The UK’s transition to electric mobility must not lose its hard-won momentum. In order to ensure investment and the continued expansion of the UK’s public charging network the government must help more drivers make the switch to electric.”
Increasing the number of electric cars on the road will also help the charging industry achieve its full economic potential, creating jobs across Britain, the research group said. An ambitious ZEV mandate would make it more profitable for manufacturers to sell EVs in the UK, lowering the upfront cost of an EV and allowing more drivers to make the switch to electric, it added.
“As the number of EVs on the road rises, demand for public charging services will increase, and the UK’s fledgling charging infrastructure industry will grow – creating jobs around the country and making it even easier to charge an electric car,” Cook said. “A ZEV mandate with high trajectories and ambitious take-up targets will help ensure the supply of EVs can meet demand, lower the upfront costs of an EV, and facilitate more and more Britons making the switch. The government should not allow concessions that risk hindering the transition and making the mandate meaningless.”