Leading voices from the electric vehicle industry have slammed Labour over its pledges to improve the UK’s charging network ahead of the July 4 General Election.
With political parties outlining their manifesto pledges this week, many are scrutinising the fine print to see how the nation’s transport infrastructure will change to benefit motorists.
Keir Starmer’s party has promised to support the transition to electric vehicles by “accelerating the roll out of charge points” across the country, according to the manifesto.
However, Labour did not clarify how or when it would commit to increasing the number of chargers and at what speed, with current data showing there are around 62,500 chargers around the UK.
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There are more than 62,500 chargers installed across the UK
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The Government originally set a target of 300,000 chargers by the end of the decade, although this target was made when the deadline to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles remained at 2030, not 2035.
Paul Tomlinson, co-founder of Cord, said Labour has been “frustratingly unclear” on what it would do to boost the uptake of electric vehicles.
This has been exacerbated by a further pledge from Labour to reinstate the 2030 deadline to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans.
Tomlinson said: “It won’t happen without some help. Private EV sales are seriously lagging.
“Public money is tight, but there are a series of small interventions which could do a lot, and wouldn’t cost much.”
He suggested that Labour needed to use the planning system to make it easier to install home chargers to cut home charging costs and boost the uptake of electric cars.
It is estimated that 30 per cent of UK households do not have off-street parking, making it more difficult to install home chargers, forcing them to rely on chargers in public, at workplaces or in the community.
Tomlinson also called on Labour to temporarily cut the rate of VAT on electric vehicles, to accelerate the uptake of EVs, especially as costs fall with Chinese brands making a splash across Europe.
As announced through Labour’s Plan for Drivers, the political party aim to support local authorities to make better use of chargepoint funding by providing reviewing existing funds to ensure money is targeted at the right places.
It will also remove planning barriers delaying the delivery of charging stations, as well as securing grid connections to facilitate the largest upgrade to the “national transmission infrastructure in a generation”.
These pledges will be delivered alongside measures to reduce traffic, fill more potholes, slash expensive car insurance costs and make streets safer for all road users.
Tomlinson added: “End fossil fuel subsidies. The Government has spent an estimated £130billion freezing the fuel tax since 2011, a massive subsidy for fossil fuel driving.
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Experts have suggested cutting VAT rates to help drivers get behind the wheel of an EV
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“Thawing out that freeze would send the appropriate price signal to drivers on the fence about making the switch.”