Tag Archives: Electric Cars

UK Government doubles funding for on-street electric car charging

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  • Transport Secretary announces extra £2.5 million for chargepoints on residential streets
  • extra funding means people who don’t have their own off-street parking will have better access to charging infrastructure near home
  • investment in charging infrastructure will support UK’s move towards net zero emissions by 2050 and efforts to further improve air quality

Owning and charging an electric vehicle is set to become more convenient than ever thanks to an additional £2.5 million to fund the installation of over 1,000 new chargepoints, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced today (Monday 12 August 2019).

The funding will support the on-street residential chargepoint scheme, launched in 2017, which helps people access charging infrastructure near their homes when they don’t have off-street parking. It will go towards helping local authorities to install these chargepoints, which can be built into existing structures like lamp-posts. The scheme aims to encourage even more people to choose an electric vehicle by making it easier to charge their cars near home, following a 158% increase in battery electric vehicle sales compared to July last year.

The scheme has already seen 16 local authorities prepared to install 1,200 chargepoints this year. The Transport Secretary is now doubling funding for the popular scheme to meet demand and accelerate the take-up of electric vehicles as the UK moves towards net zero emissions by 2050 and further improve air quality.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

It’s fantastic that there are now more than 20,000 publicly accessible chargepoints and double the number of electric vehicle chargepoints than petrol stations, but we want to do much more.

It’s vital that electric vehicle drivers feel confident about the availability of chargepoints near their homes, and that charging an electric car is seen as easy as plugging in a smartphone.

That’s why we are now doubling the funding available for local authorities to continue building the infrastructure we need to super-charge the zero emission revolution – right across the country.

The allocation of funding for on-street residential chargepoints is part of the £1.5 billion investment underpinned by the Road to Zero Strategy. The strategy consists of one of the most comprehensive packages of support for the transition to zero emission vehicles in the world, supporting the move towards a cleaner, greener, accessible and reliable UK transport network.

As part of this, the government is also investing £37 million into British engineering to develop electric chargepoint infrastructure that could rapidly expand the UK chargepoint network for people without off-street parking and put the UK on the map as the best place in the world to own an electric vehicle.

Innovations to receive investment include underground charging systems, solar powered charging forecourts and wireless charging projects. Much like current mobile phone technology, wireless charging could mean an end to needing to plug your electric vehicle in.

Electric car chargepoints to be installed in all future homes in world first

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All new-build homes could soon be fitted with an electric car chargepoint, the government has outlined today (15 July 2019) in a public consultation on changing building regulations in England. The consultation comes alongside a package of announcements to support electric vehicle drivers and improve the experience of charging.

The proposals aim to support and encourage the growing uptake of electric vehicles within the UK by ensuring that all new homes with a dedicated car parking space are built with an electric chargepoint, making charging easier, cheaper and more convenient for drivers.

The legislation would be a world first, and complements wider investment and measures the government has put in place to ensure the UK has one of the best electric vehicle infrastructure networks in the world – as part of the £1.5 billion Road to Zero Strategy.

The government has also set out today that it wants to see all newly installed rapid and higher powered chargepoints provide debit or credit card payment by Spring 2020.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

With record levels of ultra-low emission vehicles on our roads, it is clear there is an appetite for cleaner, greener transport.

Home charging provides the most convenient and low-cost option for consumers – you can simply plug your car in to charge overnight as you would a mobile phone.

The government has already taken steps to ensure that existing homes are electric vehicle ready by providing up to £500 off the costs of installing a chargepoint at home.

Having supported the installation of almost 100,000 domestic chargepoints through grant support schemes, the government has also announced that it is consulting on requirements that all new private chargepoints use ‘smart’ technology.

This means an electric vehicle would charge at different times of the day in response to signals, such as electricity tariff information. This would encourage off-peak charging, keeping costs down for consumers.

The consultation proposes using powers under the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act to require most new chargepoints to have smart functionality and meet minimum standards. It also launches a call for evidence on the longer-term options for smart charging.

For more information on electric vehicles and chargepoints, visit www.goultralow.com.

Are We Ready To Switch To Electric Cars

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Electric cars are on the way, but are we ready ? If they take off like the government suggests, more people will need electric charging points installed and that is a bonus for the electrical industry.

The government recently announced plans to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040, which is part of a long-term plan to tackle air pollution. Emissions from vehicles contribute to pollution and climate change, as well as harming our health. As the UK’s plan for this notes: “Although air pollution has improved, it still poses an urgent health problem”.

Nearly all of the cars on our roads are diesel or petrol

There were 30.8 million licensed cars on the roads in Great Britain in 2016. This has risen by nearly 10 million since 1994.

In 2016, diesel cars accounted for 39.1% of licensed cars on our roads, up from just 7.4% in 1994. Meanwhile, petrol cars accounted for 59.7% of all licensed cars in 2016, down from 92.6% in 1994.

The rise in the sale of diesel cars in recent years is linked to a tax cut on diesel cars and a reduced vehicle tax on all cars with low carbon dioxide emissions, which encouraged people to trade their petrol cars for diesel vehicles.

There has been an increase in the number of alternative fuel vehicles, which includes electric cars, illustrating some willingness for consumers to adapt to new technologies. However, they still make up a tiny percentage (1.2%) of all licensed cars on the road today.



Motorists pay the bulk of environmental taxes

Environmental tax accounts for 7.2% of all taxes and social contributions to government. It includes transport, energy, pollution and resource taxes.

Government revenue from environmental taxes reached £47.6 billion in 2016. Revenue from the taxes that affect motorists – indirect taxes like the tax on fuel, and direct taxes like vehicle tax – make up a high proportion of the overall revenue from environmental taxes.

Few people are thinking about buying an electric car

Just 5% of adults aged 16 and over had thought about buying an electric car or van in 2016. Meanwhile, over half (55%) reported they had not thought about buying an electric car or van. Some 16% said they considered it, but decided not to buy one just yet.

The most significant barrier to buying an electric car, for many people, was related to the battery. This included the perceived lack of charging stations, and concerns that they won’t be able to recharge when they need to, or that the battery is limited to a distance that is too short.

The advent of new technologies, which can increase battery capacity and therefore the distance vehicles can travel on one charge, may convince motorists that electric is a more attractive option.

Story via gov.uk