Electric car drivers stalled by charge point scarcity

ELECTRIC cars now outnumber public charging points by at least 15 to one.

Figures this week revealed that more than 500,000 electric cars were on Britain’s roads. However, the number of public electric vehicle chargers is not keeping pace with their popularity, according to analysis.

The Government announced in March that it aims to install 300,000 public charging points by 2030 in a £1.6billion push. Yet little more than 30,000 have been installed in the past decade, the research found.

In the past year, the ratio of electric vehicles to charging points has tripled, with 15 cars per charging point in January this year compared with five cars per charger in the same month last year, according to the analysis by lease firm Novuna Vehicle Solutions.

The research also revealed regional disparities in the availability of chargers. Drivers in London are the best provided for, with five electric vehicles per charging point, compared with the South West and North West, where the ratio is 32 to one and 28 to one respectively.

The report found that 31 per cent of electric car drivers frequently have to queue to charge their vehicle. Three quarters said the charging infrastructure was “not fit for purpose”.

Despite this, three in five petrol car drivers said their next vehicle was likely to be electric, and 68 per cent said they would not buy or live in a house without a charge point.

Novuna said it estimates over half of British adults will be electric car drivers by 2030, when the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be phased out.

Even if the Government did meet its 300,000 installation target, it added, there would be 54 electric vehicles vying for every charging point by the end of the decade.

Jonny Barry, from Novuna, called on the Government to accelerate the rollout. He said: “The Government vows to have 300,000 public chargers installed by 2030, but with just 32,000 devices on the ground today, our research puts into question whether this target is achievable.

“Our findings highlight how the charging network is not only a cause of frustration for electric drivers but also the millions of petrol and diesel drivers looking to transition to electric sooner rather than later.

“Having to queue for a charge is a concern raised all too often by motorists, illustrating just how pressing it is for more charge points to be installed as a matter of urgency.”

The Department for Transport also pledged to make it easier to recharge an electric car than it is to fill a petrol or diesel car at the pumps.

It comes as analysis of the latest DVLA data by the RAC this week found there were 519,266 electric cars licensed at the end of June. This is up from 282,977 a year earlier and 130,246 at the end of June 2020.

The Tesla Model 3 is the most popular electric vehicle, with 75,188 on the road. Yet electric cars still make up a tiny portion of the 33million cars in Britain.

Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned from 2030 as part of the UK’S effort to reach net zero by 2050. Hybrid cars will no longer be allowed to be sold from 2035.

Rising energy prices have meant charging an electric vehicle is increasingly costly. However, Liz Truss’s freeze on bills means electric car owners will save up to a third on charging costs, RAC analysis revealed recently.

Under the plan to cap the cost of electricity units, it will cost the driver of a Kia e-niro an average of £22.22 to charge, rather than around the £34 it would have cost had prices been allowed to rise.

The Department for Transport was contacted for comment.