Government falls short of EV charging targets

Research from the RAC has revealed that the government has failed in its target of having six or more rapid or ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers at every motorway service area in England by the end of 2023.

Just 46 (39%) of 119 motorway services reviewed by the RAC on Zapmap now have the target number of chargers above 50kW, although there are now more than 400 ultra-rapid chargers at services which means more than half (55%) can now offer some of the fastest possible charging speeds to drivers.

RAC EV spokesperson Simon Williams said: “It’s clear from our research that the government has fallen well short of its target of having six high-powered chargers at every motorway service area in England. While that’s the case, some very good progress has been made since the end of April when we last carried out our survey, with four-in-10 services (39%) now having met or exceeded the target number of chargers, compared to just under a quarter (23%) eight months ago.

“There is undoubtedly an eagerness among charge point companies and motorway service operators to install these types of units but unfortunately, it’s often the high-power cabling to the grid that’s the major barrier which is out of their hands.

“More clearly needs to be done to make this process simpler than it is currently. Hopefully once the government’s Rapid Charging Fund kicks fully into action some of these hurdles will be overcome.”

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