A Three Point Plug to Accelerate the Move to Electric Vehicles

The government has announced its national electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure strategy. This  commits £1.6bn to enable widespread, accessible and affordable EV charging across the country. There is a target of getting to 300,000 public charge points by 2030. This is alongside ending the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by the same date, although hybrids will still be available for sale for a further five years.

Achieving the infrastructure vision will involve coordination, engagement and implementation nationally across industry stakeholders. The stakeholder groups are many and varied: national government, local authorities, charge point operators, motorway service area operators, e-mobility service providers, energy transmission operators, vehicle manufacturers, car park operators - and very importantly drivers of EVs as well as ICE drivers who haven’t yet made the shift to EV. 

There are three clear challenges the industry needs to navigate together:

• Finding the right mix of local solutions focused on consumer experience: charging for those without off-street parking, for en-route and destination public charging will need to be tailored to local needs. Spending time to understand the right ‘portfolio’ (e.g. on-street, rapid hub, local car parks) will help to provide local communities with accessible, convenient and affordable access to charging. There may otherwise be an adverse social value impact e.g. increasing economic inequality for those without easy access.
• Striking the right public-private partnerships: The private sector (CPOs, eMSPs, investors, to name a few) have a critical stake in succeeding with the vision. The right deals with government and local authorities will help to balance public funding pressures, create innovation and competition, and provide the private sector with risk-reward investments they can swallow.
• Tackling the perception and reality around moving to an EV: Ease of charging for those without off-street parking is clearly a factor in deciding to shift to EVs. Building more public charging infrastructure ahead of demand is essential as per the national strategy. Alongside this excellent consumer experience - again enabled by the private sector - through contextual and rich information and data on infrastructure will add a convenience factor that many people will require to move away from ICE vehicles.

If we can solve these, we will plug a gap in current plans and enable us more rapidly to get to the watershed moment where the ‘push’ of legislation banning ICE vehicles is complemented by the ‘pull’ of drivers having confidence to shift to EV with less friction. Let’s watch this space!