Analysis shows ministers are at risk of missing their goal for 300,000 public EV charge points by 2030, with only 3,870 installed in three months. At its current rate, the target will be achieved 10 years behind schedule. Will the Government now rethink its insane plan to ban sales of ‘wet’ cars in 2030? The Times has the story.
Figures from the Department for Transport show that 3,870 chargers were installed in the three months to July, bringing the total to 44,020 across the U.K.
At the current pace, just 114,640 would be installed by January 2030, with the targets met a decade later. To meet the target in time 9,845 chargers would need to be installed each quarter between now and then — a 154% increase.
There is growing frustration among motor manufacturers at the lack of a mandate on charging infrastructure, given that from next year carmakers will be subject to one themselves on how many zero-emission vehicles they sell, with penalties for missing targets. The Government is aiming to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. New hybrid cars, which use a combination of electric and conventional fuels, will be banned from 2035.
There was debate this week over whether pursuing the green agenda will hamper the Tories’ success at the next election after the party narrowly held Boris Johnson’s former seat in the Uxbridge & South Ruislip by-election. The victory was attributed to the party’s opposition of the expansion of London’s clean air zone, which was billed as a tax on motorists.
Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, said the 2030 date to end sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles was “immovable”. He told the BBC: “We’re committed to maintaining our policy of ensuring that by 2030 there are no new petrol and diesel cars being sold.”
Privately, some in the motor industry believe the Conservatives know the infrastructure targets will not be met and that sticking to the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars will be hard, but are unwilling to address the issues before the election. Louise Haigh, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said: “There is no time to lose on charging infrastructure, yet the Conservatives are still a decade off track to meeting their own target.
“Never-ending chaos from this Conservative Government risks stalling the switch to electric vehicles, pushing up costs and leaving our world-class car industry in limbo.”
From next year manufacturers will be subject to a mandate on how many zero-emission vehicles they sell, starting at 22% of their total production. That will rise every year, reaching 52% in 2028, 80% in 2030 and 100% in 2035.
Worth reading in full.
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Good. It’s a BS schedule anyway.
On holiday in Keswick this week.
Stocking up at Waitrose I was left in the car while Mrs shopped.
I watched a lady trying to reverse her EV people wagon into the narrow charging bay. No tittering gents, please.
Eventually, after 15 mins she was there. Out she got, spent 5 mins reading the instructions. Back to the EV, then working out her cable wouldn’t reach. Then 5 more mins looking at a phone app, presumably to locate another charge point.
Off she drove, steam coming out of her ears.
‘Buy a diesel, love!’ I shouted in my car.
PS Confession: my wife and daughter are much better at reversing than me.
My son met me at Marlborough for the day a few months ago. He parked his hybrid in one of the 2 EV charging bays in the car park, just to find they were both out of action. Just as well it wasn’t a full EV because he had a 100 mile return journey and would have had insufficient charge to make it.
“Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, said the 2030 date to end sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles was “immovable”. He told the BBC: “We’re committed to maintaining our policy of ensuring that by 2030 there are no new petrol and diesel cars being sold.””
Gerald Celente “Hey Politician who ** are you to tell me what to do”
“Immovable” and the Titanic was “unsinkable”
What a self important poofed up twat!
Add in treacherous and self interested
Call me whacky, but given that they’re already talking about rolling blackouts this winter because they won’t be able to meet current demands, let alone an increase (at least it’ll keep my extortionate bills down), where is all that leccy to supply these charging points supposed to be coming from? It’s been proven time and again that windmills and solar panels – both unreliable, unrecyclable and environmentally damaging – just won’t cut it & Hinkley Point nuclear station isn’t due to come online until 2027 at the earliest.
The term rolling blackouts reminded me of the miners strike in the 1970s, during which a large proportion of it came from coal fired stations. However, the real issue is local distribution, not so much the capability of meeting the demand at the top end. Have a look at my comment nearby on this.
Miners strikes, dustbin workers strikes, power workers strikes!
And the good Mrs. Thatcher had already stockpiled coal like there was no tomorrow.
Add to that, Scargill playing right into her hands, like the great busted ego he was.
The other matter is the potentially increasing popularity with private charging points, i.e. at your house. Some have it already, some not. Apart from the obvious need for an off-road place on you property, the capability of the local distribution cabling is another issue. I don’t think the firms that handle the district network (District Network Operator (DNO)) have been planning ahead for that. Recently, in my area, they have had to renew a lot of buried cable due to faults caused by insulation failures. What they did was more or less like for like, given the sizing of the local transformer and the cabling installed. Also, some houses are done with a short spur that feeds both, and it would have to be split into individual spurs if they wanted EV charge points. Some footage about what happened here: https://youtu.be/LS8VFhRMsYY Towards the back end there are some notes about this matter, esp the IET standards relating to that.
In simple terms, the local networks are not supposed to cope with everyone drawing their maximum load at the same time, on the basis that there is usually an element of diversity, with most domestic things. However, EV charging is treated differently, as it’s possible for long term continuous loads to occur simultaneously. So they would either have to ramp up the cabling, or introduce remote automation of “load management” (BS7671 722.311.201) to spread the load (inimical to the current system with multiple different utility firms on the same cable).
Excellent detail from someone who knows what the F they’re talking about. You won’t “fail upwards”.
They do not need to install any more charging points because the idea is to end the era of cheap mass transportation for the hoi-polloi. Ever since the expansion of the railways the elite have been horrified at the idea of travel freedom for all. Well with the EV nonsense they will finally put a stop to us all travelling all over the place.
I understand the bulk of EV sales are corporate on lease deals and making use of tax breaks, the whole concept of EVs does not work for ordinary folk on modest incomes and so when ICE cars are phased out it will be on your bike, on the bus or walking.
Most of the big car makers like Ford are already gearing up to stop the production of cheap and cheerful cars like the Fiesta and focus on selling smaller numbers of top end EVs. There may be some micro lightweight EV’s like the Citroen Ami (souped up mobility scooter) for those who need some local transport. But otherwise I rather feel that the idea is that the era of everybody having a Ford Cortina parked in the drive is being consigned to history.
I talk to the main ICE engineers who tell me that EVs are the Betamax of the automotive industry
Take away government subsidies and fleet sales would end! Fleet sales are the only thing keeping these farcical sales numbers up
Let evs compete in the real world without government aid and sales would fall on their arse!
…Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary…
“Levelling-down secretary” would be a more accurate description, and would fit in well with ‘Net Zero’, since that’s where we’re heading as a civilisation.
Electric vehicles are not green, they are not viable except as expensive run arounds for those with money but no sense and actually on a worldwide scale are way more polluting than ICE vehicles. They are the globalists way of adding window dressing to a global problem that doesn’t exist. In other words a SCAM.
Apart from the arguments on whether electric vehicles are as carbon neutral as claimed, in my little town of Rye there are to my knowledge only four charging points, and those are all in a hotel car park. The centre of the town is a pedestrianised area, so there is no street parking. There is no electricity supply to either of the garages we have. So charging an electric car is impossible and the prospect of more charging points is remote.
That said I still wish to see a clear analysis of the relative contributions of fossil fuel emissions, other man made activities such as deforestation, and natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions and ocean current variations which remain outside human control to whatever real climate change is or is not occurring.
We were persuaded to lease an EV through my business last year because of the significant tax incentives that are available. Were they not, our family transport [600+ miles per each tank of diesel] would have remained unsold. Our son lives in Derbyshire, we live in Cornwall. Visits north to see him are always tinged with concern over charging…..as highlighted by previous commentators….even though we have an indicated, not actual range, of 340 + miles….another joke!
When this lease ends in 2 years time, we will be going nowhere near another EV and we will buy another ICE car. The EV will have depreciated stratospherically, have to sit in a field, 2 metres from any other EV for fire safety reasons and probably remain unsold
So in nearby Frome, one car park on the edge of town has turned over six parking places to being charging bays. Out of around 20 in toto.
Some weeks back.
The charge units are still not in use, with bags over them. No indication of when they may be available.
Paid for out of the rates, I’d guess.
This is a joke, but a really really bad one.
See above. Ours were 18 months to become functional. All that’s needed now is for someone to use them! Great value for money!
I live in a small west country town where, I estimate, 70% of car-owners, have no facility to charge an EV from their own house. A couple of years ago, TWO electric chargers were installed in one of the town’s main car parks.
The idea that the infrastructure will be in place by 2030 is ludicrous. And that’s even IF people want and can afford an EV. Most can’t and many don’t want one.
Here in a Mid-Wales seaside town the council installed a double charge unit (user provides own cable). It was placed 18 months ago, then they dug up a pavement again for a new cable and marked 2 places. 9 months later they come and add another point along side. Eventually reinstating the tarmac and adding more markings. During all this time not one was functioning until 6 weeks ago. Since then I have seen one electric van (who on earth would want an electric Tansit van in a rural, hilly, area?!) use this amazing facility – not.
Virtually the only EV’s you see in this area are visitors with their Teslas.