Following the release of charging device statistics which show
there are more 250,000 home charging devices, but just 2,038
devices installed through the on-street residential charging
scheme1, Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the
AA, said: “The latest new car sales show there is a strong appeal
for electric cars2, but if we want to see a seismic
shift away from combustion vehicles then more needs to be done to
improve the charging network.
“On-street residential chargepoints are key for the 40% of
households without dedicated off-street parking and we need to
see significant investment in this area. As a previous AA
investigation showed, many councils don’t have plans to install
on-street chargers and some that have been granted funds have
used it to install in town centre car parks3.
“There is also a danger that policy makers think on-street
charging is only an urban issue, but there are many rural
communities that need on-street charging infrastructure. We would
also like to see VAT set at 5%, mirroring domestic charging rates
to avoid the creation of a two-tier system.”
Cousens continues; “We also believe that the scaling back of the
home charging grant from 1 April4sends the wrong
message at a time when EV sales are booming. With the right
incentives and support, the Chancellor could turbo-charge the
electric revolution in his Spring Statement5.”
ends
NOTES TO EDITORS
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https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electric-vehicle-charging-device-grant-scheme-statistics-january-2022/electric-vehicle-charging-device-grant-scheme-statistics-january-2022
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https://media.smmt.co.uk/january-2022-new-car-registrations/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=january-2022-new-car-registrations
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https://www.theaa.com/about-us/newsroom/electric-avenues
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https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/customer-guidance-electric-vehicle-homecharge-scheme/electric-vehicle-homecharge-scheme-guidance-for-customers
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https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/forecast-2022-date-announcement/spring-2022-forecast-statement