Infrastructure hinders EV progress

Analysis from non-standard vehicle finance provider Moneybarn, shows UK infrastructure might be unable to support the growing number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road.

Numbers of EVs are expected to rise to 700,000 by 2020 and at the end of last year, there were 100,000 ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in the UK for only 4,615 electric charging stations. This equates to just one charging station every 53 miles. In contrast, there are petrol stations available on average every 29 miles.

Sales and marketing director of Moneybarn, Simon Bayley, commented, ‘While it’s great to see a rise in the adoption of electric vehicles, UK infrastructure needs to keep up. Motorists need peace of mind they can complete journeys without the worry of running out of power or long charging delays. It will be interesting to see how the government responds to this growing need.’

Moneybarn suggests only 2,500 of the UK’s 14,000 electric chargers fall into the ‘rapid’ category,  which charges EVs in around 30 minutes, whilst the majority are ‘fast’ chargers which take 3-4 hours. It also points to the fact that the UK will need a range of technologies for managing electrical consumption to meet an estimated rise of up to 15% in overall demand and to prevent spikes of up to 40% at peak times.

Despite the government introducing the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill in Parliament and aiming to invest more than £1.2bn in the industry Moneybarn claims it is ‘uncertain whether these changes will happen in time to significantly help motorists, who already own an electric vehicle’.

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