The Department for Transport (DfT)’s chargepoint installation targets ‘appear achievable’, but greater consideration must be given to the location and accessibility of future installations. The findings form part of a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) that examines whether DfT is achieving value for money in the rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure.
The report assesses:
- whether DfT is on track to meet its ambitions for 2030 and the commitments in its strategy
- whether DfT has set up to deliver its key interventions to support local charging and rapid charging on the strategic road network, and has effectively tackled barriers to installing more chargepoints
- whether DfT has intervened effectively to improve customer experience of charging infrastructure.
The report’s Conclusion states that:
- A widespread, easy-to-use and reliable network of public chargepoints is crucial to ensuring that the UK is ready to meet the phase-out of petrol and diesel cars in 2030.
- To date, chargepoint numbers have increased in line with what is needed and the installation of 300,000 chargepoints by 2030, estimated to be the minimum needed, appears achievable.
- DfT is navigating a difficult delivery environment to bring its two main initiatives to launch, though later than anticipated.
- DfT needs to ensure that it manages the risks to the delivery of these programmes, and that they deliver the intended growth in the number of public chargepoints.
- The sharp increase in public chargepoints expected over the rest of the decade needs to include a greater focus on where the chargepoints are located and how accessible they are.
- DfT and other government bodies involved must also be ready to meet the challenges and opportunities that come with this growth.
- Solutions to address costly and time-consuming barriers in planning and electricity network connections must be in place to meet the increased scale of installations needed. DfT must also monitor how people and chargepoint operators behave, to respond to emerging issues and intervene in areas that may disrupt the transition to electric vehicles.
More details and download the report: Public chargepoints for electric vehicles - NAO report.
