A move in the right direction, but more immediate action is required…

Ian Plummer, commercial director of Auto Trader, response to the Government’s new infrastructure strategy for electric vehicles

“A ten-fold increase in charging points by 2030 is a noble ambition but whether £500m is enough to deliver the gear-shift on EV charging the country needs remains to be seen. The money will be spread quite thinly.

“The plan puts the onus on councils to develop their own infrastructure, but we would have liked to see central government taking more of a strategic lead. The roll-out has been uneven so far as London and the South-East account for nearly half of all charging points, and the UK lags behind many other European countries.

“Even if today’s ambitions on charging infrastructure are met, the pace is unlikely to keep up with expected growth in EV sales, so we also need this investment urgently to give confidence to those drivers looking to make the switch.

“We need to remember we’re asking people to make a massive shift in behaviour, without compelling financial reasons. The government has chosen not to follow the successful financial incentive models adopted by the likes of Norway; it must at least then remove the complexity of buying an EV and critically, make them easier to live with. This strategy is a move in the right direction, but more immediate action is required.

“If people are going to buy EVs, they need to see available charging stations, not queues. The problem is compounded by the Government’s short-sighted approach to incentives for EV buyers.”