Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

(asked on 30th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of electric vehicle public charging points across the UK to help meet the Climate Change Committee's recommendation of 150,000 points by 2025.


Answered by
Rachel Maclean Portrait
Rachel Maclean
This question was answered on 5th July 2021

Government is investing £1.3 billion in accelerating the roll out of charging infrastructure over the next four years, targeting support on rapid chargepoints on motorways and major roads, and installing more on-street chargepoints near homes and workplaces to make charging as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car. Our grant schemes and the £400 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund will see thousands more electric vehicle charge-points installed across the UK.

We have set ambitious targets for chargepoints on our strategic road network in England to support long distance journeys. By 2023, we aim to have at least 6 high powered, open access chargepoints (150 - 350 kilowatt capable) at all motorway service areas and by 2030, we are planning for there to be around 2,500 high powered chargepoints across England’s motorways and major A roads. However, we have not set an overall target for the number of chargepoints. Having a “target” number risks assuming technology stands still and creating a uniform approach to charging mixes and needs across the country.

Government and industry have supported the installation of almost 25,000 publicly available charging devices. This includes more than 4,500 rapid devices. To ensure the private sector can continue to expand the charging network at pace in the 2020s, the Government will invest £950 million in future proofing grid capacity along the Strategic Road Network and launching a £90 million Local EV Infrastructure Fund to support the roll out of large on-street schemes and potentially rapid charging hubs in England.

Later this year we will publish an EV Infrastructure Strategy to set out the vision and action plan for charging infrastructure rollout needed to achieve the 2030/35 phase out successfully. This will set expected roles for different stakeholders and how government will intervene to address the gaps between the current market status and our vision.

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