RAC director of EVs Sarah Winward-Kotecha said: “Future-proofing
new build houses by ensuring they include electric car charge
points wherever feasible is a welcome move by the Government, and
one that can give future homeowners the confidence they’ll be
able to enjoy the benefits of a fully-charged car before they
leave the house. Additional commitments to workplace charging
will also benefit those who perhaps don’t have home charging
facilities but park their vehicle for several hours a day at
work.
“But as positive as today’s announcement clearly is, it’s
important to remember that a lot of new housing stock –
especially in cities – doesn’t even come with any car parking at
all, let alone provision for electric charge points. It’s for
this reason that the RAC continues to call for the installation
of rapid charging hubs to also be a priority. By supplementing
points already installed in places like forecourts and
supermarkets with rapid chargers, drivers without off-road
parking will have a realistic opportunity to go electric. In
addition, it gives those needing to recharge on longer journeys
greater flexibility to do so.
“It’s also important that all charge points – particularly at
motorway services – are always working. Unfortunately, we’re
increasingly being called out to use our EV Boost technology by
drivers who have reached public charge points only to discover
they are out-of-order.”
