The challenges the UK's Infrastructure faces to facilitate the widespread use of electric vehicles & how these issues can be addressed
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The challenges the UK’s
Infrastructure faces to facilitate
the widespread use of electric
vehicles & how these issues can
be addressed
Holmes Noble recently co-hosted a question and answer session with Mike Hawes, CEO of the SMMT
alongside the Worshipful Livery of Coachmakers. While focusing on the Future of the Automotive Sector
post-pandemic/Brexit and the transition to EV, we were keen to ensure that a holistic view of the entire
ecosystem was considered and not just solely approached through the lens of the OEMs and
manufacturing supply chain alone.
We are following up on our recording of the session (https://www.holmesnoble.com/events/the-future-of-
the-automotive-sector-post-brexit-pandemic-and-the-transition-to-electric-vehicles/) with a series of
thought pieces exploring some of the key issues identified and the main challenges ahead to enable a
net-zero automotive industry of the future. In the first part of our series, we explore the issues and
challenges surrounding the charging infrastructure and the solutions required to enable electric vehicles
to take off in the UK. This will be followed by further explorations of how manufacturers and the supply
chain need to adapt to the new realities.
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The Current State of the UK’s Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles:
The UK’s government has acknowledged that it must become ‘greener’ and has pledged to go carbon-
neutral by 2050. The transport sector is the largest CO2 sector in the UK, with it contributing 27% of total
greenhouse gas emissions, and cars are responsible for 55% of this statistic.
This has led to a broad acknowledgement that petrol and diesel-based vehicles are becoming outdated
and are causing environmental damage. Therefore, it is a necessity for the country to lessen its
dependency on these greenhouse-gas emitting vehicles and quickly adopt Electric Vehicles instead. The
government has responded to this need by announcing that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be
banned by 2030, and hybrid cars will be banned by 2035. Additionally, the public itself has begun to
increase its demand for electric cars. As Figure 1.1 shows, demand for electric vehicles is increasing
(with purely Battery Electric Vehicle demand rising by 74.1%), whereas demand for Petrol and Diesel
cars is decreasing.
However, there are significant challenges which
the UK’s infrastructure faces to accommodate this
target, and many in both the government and the
car industry are questioning whether this target is
unrealistic and would need to be pushed back.
This article will argue that the three main
challenges the UK’s infrastructure faces are a lack
of charging stations, the scarcity of rapid charging
ports and an uneven geographical spread of the
necessary infrastructure.
The Challenges
To both facilitate the increasing demand for
electric vehicles and to enforce its desired ban on
the sale of all exclusively petrol and diesel-based
cars by 2030 and hybrid cars by 2035, the
government will need to acknowledge and then
address the weaknesses of the UK’s
Figure 1.1
infrastructure.
Lack of Charging Stations:
The key issue with the UK’s infrastructure for electric vehicles is the lack of charging stations.
The number of public charge points must increase in correlation with the increase of electric cars. From
2019 to 2020, there was a 40% increase in battery-powered Electrical Vehicles but only a 24% increase
in public charge points (36567 in total). If this trend continues, the UK’s infrastructure will not be able to
support the number of electric cars on the road, and there will be a reluctance from the public to
purchase vehicles they cannot power. This, in turn, has led to 67% of Electric Vehicle owners reporting
that they would not have purchased one if they did not have their own electric charging port. This creates
a problem as 62% of households in the UK do not have access to a driveway, and as home charging
accounts for 60% of all charging done, it is not possible for many to depend on electric cars for their main
transportation vehicle. This will significantly hinder the government’s attempts to become carbon-neutral
by 2050 as the infrastructure could not currently facilitate widespread public charging.
Additionally, there is a common concern, given the name ‘Range Anxiety’, that electric car batteries
cannot be charged enough to take people to their required destination. As Voelcker noted, available
public-charging infrastructure is a “key factor in EV enjoyment”. Therefore, at present, the percentage
increase of charging stations will not high be enough to alleviate peoples’ anxiety towards purchasing an
electric vehicle, which will undermine public faith in the government policy to ban all petrol and diesel-
based vehicles by 2035.
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Poor Infrastructure for Rapid Charging Points:
Another significant issue facing the use of electric cars is that it takes too long to charge them using a
standard charge point. This issue could be overcome using rapid charging points. At present, standard
charge points can take 7-8 hours to fully charge an electric car. Rapid charging points, however, can
provide a full charge in 20-30 minutes.
These rapid charging points would make the use of electric cars more accessible to people who do not
have a drive, as they could charge their cars relatively quickly at rapid charging points. However, at
present, there are not enough rapid charging points to make the use of electric cars feasible for many in
the UK. At present, there are only 4334 rapid (or very rapid) charging points compared to 18829 non-
rapid charging points.
Additionally, the UK’s electricity grids cannot sustain a greater number of rapid charging points, due to
the high energy requirements, without significant levels of investment. If private distribution companies
are forced to fund the majority of this investment, it would inevitably be passed onto the consumer with
higher energy bills. Alternatively, the government could invest in the grids themselves which would need
to be funded through higher taxation. At present, there is no clear policy on how much of the investment
cost burden will fall to the network companies and how much would be covered by the government. This
lack of clarity of where the investment will come from hinders the progression of creating the necessary
infrastructure.
Uneven Geographical Infrastructure:
Another challenge for the UK’s infrastructure is that
the current geographic distribution of electric charging
stations is very uneven, a fact acknowledged by the
government: the parliamentary group for Business,
Energy and Industrial has noted that Britain’s
infrastructure is “lacking in size and geographical
coverage”.
There are two main problems with the infrastructure’s
geographical spread.
Firstly, much of the new electrical infrastructure has
been focused on London. As exhibited by Figure 1.2,
London is further ahead in terms of access to charge
points than anywhere in the country. If this continues,
this will exacerbate the already existing discontent
many cities and towns across the UK feel already: that
they have been ‘left behind’ for the sake of London.
The UK is one of the most geographically unequal
countries in the developed world in terms of economic
inequality, a problem the government is acutely aware
of given the first speech Boris Johnson gave as Prime
Minister was a pledge to was to ‘level up’ the economy
outside of London and the South East. Figure 1.2
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However, the government has placed a clear emphasis on building new charging points focused on
motorways. In fact, the government proudly declares “a driver is never more than 25 miles away from a
rapid (50 kilowatt) charge point anywhere along England’s motorways and major A roads” and that their
target is to build 6,000 high powered charge points across England’s motorways and major A roads. This
will help cities outside of London have access to the new infrastructure.
Whilst this focus on the development of charge points on motorways and major A roads will help the
adoption of electric vehicles in cities, it has the potential to leave more rural communities behind. This will
intensify an already existing issue: public transport in rural areas is dismal. At present, 80% of rural
communities live more than 2.5 miles from a GP, 44% from a supermarket, and 59% from a bank. Due in
part to cuts to bus services, rural residents are highly dependent on car-based transport, with total annual
mileage using a car being higher in rural areas than urban ones. If infrastructure is not expanded to rural
areas, then a move towards electric vehicles will not be possible for many in the country. Should the UK
fail to build the necessary infrastructure required in rural areas of the UK, there will be many areas where
it will be impractical to own an electric vehicle. Should the government move forward with their plans to
ban the sale of new petrol and diesel-based cars by 2030, the combination of not being able to purchase
new vehicles and potentially higher tax rates to pay for electrical infrastructure for cities and motorways
will lead to high levels of discontent in the ‘left-behind areas’.
Solutions
The challenges of the transition to Electric Vehicles for the UK are large, but they are not insurmountable.
Upon examination, there are three major areas where the UK must focus if it is to ensure its
infrastructure can support the rise of electric vehicles. These are: increasing investment to build new
charging ports, furthering coordination between government and corporations, and targeting investment
in the correct places.
Investment Needs to Be Increased
Firstly, the government’s current investment plans for the UK’s infrastructure are not large enough to
support its goals of banning the sale of new traditional petrol and diesel-based vehicles by 2030 and
hybrids by 2035.
The current government plan is to invest £1.3 billion to create an infrastructure network that can support
the growth of electric vehicles. However, analysis from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
estimates that £16.7 billion would be needed for the government to achieve its goals of only allowing
electric cars to be sold by 2035.
This dearth of investment compared to the investment needed means that the number of charging
stations are not increasing at the necessary pace. Projections show that on average, UK councils are
only planning to install 35 electric charging points each by 2025 due to the lack of enough investment.
This slow rate of installation signal that the 2.8 million chargers (estimated by the Society of Motor
Manufacturers) needed to support the government’s 2035 targets will not be met.
Therefore, to have the infrastructure in place to facilitate the growth of the electric vehicle market, the
government must increase the amount of investment to grow the number of electric charging points.
holmes noble | advancing business through people
A Clearer Policy for Cooperation with Companies.
At present, there is no clear strategy for how the government intends to work with companies on
developing the necessary infrastructure for electric cars. However, experts have noted approaches the
government can take to create infrastructure in conjunction with energy distribution firms.
The Project Director for National Grid stated that a “really grown-up discussion” is needed between the
energy industry and the government to establish how much of the investment to upgrade the networks
are going to come from where. Sir John Armitt, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission noted
that the best way to do this would be to allow Ofgem to fairly broker the deals between the government
and the companies to ensure that the policy of infrastructure building can be implemented.
Once it is agreed where the investment for the new infrastructure will come from, the necessary work to
create the stronger energy network required can be conducted.
The Right Investment
It is essential that the government ensures that the charge points are accessible across the country,
including in the rural areas. Armitt recommended that the government should follow a similar plan to the
implementation of countrywide broadband, namely allow the private sector to up electric charging ports
where it is profitable to do so but invest in the less profitable, set rural areas through the public sector.
This will ensure the UK’s infrastructure will support all areas.
Conclusion:
For the UK government to achieve their goals of cutting vehicles’ carbon emissions and to keep up with
the growing demand for electric cars, it must begin to plan for the future. The UK will need to plan a
stronger investment scheme, coordinate with electrical distribution companies, and will need to make
sure all the UK has been levelled up. Whilst this is possible, the necessary action must be taken now to
ensure that the UK’s infrastructure is ready for the future of vehicular transportation.
References:
1.Hirst, D. Winnet., J. Dempsey, N. Hinson. S. 2021. ‘Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure’. House of
Commons Library. pp.1-68.
2.Skidmore, C. 2019. ‘UK becomes First Major Economy to Pass Net Zero Emissions Law’. Department
for Business, Energy & Industrial Action.
3.Morris, J. 2021. ‘The EV Revolution is Doomed Without Better Charging Infrastructure’. Forbes.
4.London Assembly. 2021. ‘Electric Vehicle Infrastructure’. Mayor of London.
5.Griffiths, H. 2020. ‘UK Needs £16.7bn Electric Car Charging Investment to Hit 2035 Goals’. Auto
Express.
6.Campbell, P. 2021. ‘UK in Talks with Battery ‘Gigafactories’ for Electric Cars’. Financial Times.
7.Thomas, N. & Campbell, P. 2019. ‘Switch to Electric Cars Hit by ‘Poor’ Charging Infrastructure’.
Financial Times.
8.Nicolas, M. & Lutsey, N. 2020. ‘Quantifying the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Gap in the
United Kingdom’. The International Council on Clean Transportation.
9.Gov UK. 2020. ‘Government Vision for the Rapid Chargepoint Network in England’. Gov.uk.
10. Deloitte. 2021. ‘UK Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 2021’. Deloitte.
11. Davenport, A. & Zaranko. 2020. ‘Levelling Up: Where and How?’. Institute for Fiscal Studies.
12. ACRE, 2014. ‘Policy Position Paper: Transport’. Action for Rural Communities.
13. Butler, P. 2020. ‘City Dwellers Idealise Britain’s Countryside, But There is No Escaping Rural
Poverty’. The Guardian.
14. Mattiolia, G. Philips, I. Anable, J. & Chatteron, T. 2019. ‘Vulnerability to Motor Fuel Prices Increases:
Socio-spatial Patterns in England’. Journal of Transport Geography.
15. Puddicombe, D. 2021. ‘Analysis: Do EV Charging Firms Need Government Support’. Autocar.
16. Armstrong, M. 2021. ‘UK demand for Electric Cars Growing Despite Covid Crisis’. Statista.
17. Palmer, A. 2021. ‘The 2030 Combustion Engine Ban is Just Around the Corner- and We’re Running
Out of Time’. Autocar.
18. Voelcker J. 2021. ‘Range Anxiety is Very Real, J.D. Power EVs Survey Finds’. Forbes.
19. Spencer T. 2019. ‘Why Range Anxiety is a Myth’. Fully Charged.
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