Electric car chargers needed on every street, says Connected Kerb

A tenfold increase in electric car charge points in the UK is urgently needed, according to a stark new warning from industry groups.

A new report calls for a step-change in the rollout of publicly accessible electric car charging infrastructure ahead of the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030. The report, called ‘How to meet the UK’s EV charging needs by 2030’, has been published by infrastructure specialist Connected Kerb with involvement from finance, infrastructure, energy, local government and EV charging firms, as well as charity Motability.

Easy-to-access public chargers have to be installed on virtually every residential street in the country, says the report’s findings. Research shows that eight out of 10 drivers need reliable and affordable charging on-street at home to convince them to go electric.

The report finds this is particularly important for drivers with disabilities, a majority of whom do not have private parking. It also suggests that widespread availability of slower, lower cost, lower-tech 7kW ‘slow’ chargers could be a better way of solving the UK’s charging infrastructure shortcomings, than installing a smaller number of more powerful rapid chargers.

The warning comes at a time when electric car sales are booming – up 154 per cent in February – but when the UK’s car-to-charging point ratio is going backwards. Britain’s ratio of 16 chargers for every electric vehicle lags behind that of countries including South Korea (3:1), the Netherlands (5:1) and France (10:1).

New long-term methods of financing new charging infrastructure will be increasingly paramount to widespread EV charger roll-out, believes Connected Kerb, which expects to sign deals for 30,000 new chargers this year as part of its objective of deploying 190,000 by 2030. 

 “The industry is migrating from early adopters, tolerant of patchy performance, to a mass market of mainstream drivers that rightly expect consistent high performance,” said Chris Pateman-Jones, chief executive of Connected Kerb.

“This demands a radical change of mindset amongst national and local government, investors, developers, and charging point providers.”

Can the UK grow its electric car charging network fast enough? Have your say in the comments...