The role of electric vehicles in the transition to a low carbon
economy and as part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy will
be investigated by the House of Commons Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee in a new inquiry launched
today.
In this short inquiry, the Committee will examine barriers to the
market’s development and the support it needs to progress and
consider how the Government can optimise electric vehicles as
part of a strong Industrial Strategy. MPs will look at charging
infrastructure as well as purchase costs and incentives to
increase electric vehicle sales.
The Government’s road transport decarbonisation strategy and its
ability to respond to potentially disruptive shifts in the
market, such as the emergence of driverless cars, will also be
scrutinised. The inquiry will cover all electric road vehicles,
including buses, HGVs, cars, motorcycles and vans.
MP, Chair of the Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee,
said: “If the UK is to meet its decarbonisation
goals and move successfully to a prosperous low carbon economy,
then a thriving electric vehicles market is vital.
“Our inquiry will follow on closely from our recent
investigation into Industrial Strategy. Its focus is to
assess how the Government’s approach to ‘picking winners’, in
this case electric vehicles, can best exploit the opportunities
arising from this technology as a means of enhancing the
strengths of the UK automotive industry as well as moving to a
low carbon economy. It will take a close look at the
factors holding back the electric car market and examine options
for how it can be better supported.
“As a Committee we want to investigate concerns that electric
vehicle sales and roll-out are not as advanced as they should be
and that people may be put off buying an electric car due to a
postcode lottery of charging infrastructure, with the
availability of charge points varying substantially across the
country.”
The Committee is inviting submissions on written evidence on the
following issues by Thursday 13 April 2017 via the inquiry webpage:
- · What
are the key barriers to development of the UK’s electric vehicle
market?
- · Does
the Government’s Industrial Strategy sufficiently address the
challenges and opportunities for electric vehicles?
- · What
support for purchase costs should the Government provide after
2018, in response to the changing costs of electric vehicles?
- · How
best can the Government ensure that there is consistent provision
of charging infrastructure across the country?
- · Is the
Government’s road transport decarbonisation strategy sufficiently
flexible to adapt to potentially disruptive market trends such as
driverless cars? How might these impact requirements for, and use
of, charging infrastructure?
This inquiry is expected to feed into a broader innovation
inquiry due to be launched in the coming month. More information
about the Committee and the inquiry, Electric Vehicles:
Developing the market, is available online.
