The UK only has 15% of the electric car chargers required to meet net zero targets, according to a new analysis by the Labour Party…

An Inadequate Number of Chargers 

An analysis conducted by the Labour Party has suggested that the country only has 15% of the EV chargers required to meet net zero targets. In particular, it’s warned of an emerging ‘two-tier transport Britain’; largely due to the ‘patchy’ nature of the country’s EV infrastructure. 

According to the government’s own reports, the nation needs some 150,000 public chargers; and that these need to be “widely available across the UK” by 2025. But, as Labour has pointed out, there are currently just 22,790 chargers in place. That means a whopping 127,000 need to be installed in less than four years if targets are to be met. A seemingly impossible task. 

Labour’s analysis also noted that there are significant regional differences when it comes to the accessibility of electric car chargers. For instance, you’re four times more likely to find a charger in London than you are in Yorkshire. Finally, it criticised the recent cuts made to the plug-in grant. These, the party believes, will make it harder for less well-off motorists to access to ‘greener’ motoring. 

‘Unfairness in our Country’ 

Ed Miliband MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, recently spoke about the analysis at the SMMT’s conference. He said, “the Government’s failure to roll out charging points across the country and the decision to cut the plug-in grant risks baking in unfairness in our country as we move towards a zero-emission future”. He added, “for the minicab driver who relies on their car for work and is thinking the price of an electric car is simply out of their reach. For the commuter who relies on their car but is also worried about being priced out. For those in rural areas, the Midlands and the North where you may not be able to access a charging point”. 

Miliband concluded, “government needs to step up and support new gigafactories, provide the means for consumers on lower – and middle-incomes to afford electric vehicles and ensure the charging points are there throughout our country”. 

Edmund King, President of the AA, weighed in on the debate. He said, “to speed up the electric vehicle revolution there is a longstanding debate as to what comes first; the cars or the charge points? The reality is we need both to happen at the same time. With particular focus on the 30-40% of homeowners who have no access to dedicated off-street parking”. 

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