Chief Executive of Electric Vehicles UK (EVUK) Tanya Sinclair has told MPs that “inconsistent government policy and confused communication are undermining the UK’s shift to electric vehicles.”
Speaking at the Environmental Audit Committee’s (EAC) evidence session, she added that the move now posed a real risk to meeting the Seventh Carbon Budget.
She said there was a lack of confidence in government policy, and that “the electrification of transport is a market-led transition. But markets only succeed when policy is consistent. Right now, that consistency is missing”.
During the session, Sinclair highlighted the government’s Budget announcement of a 3p-per-mile road tax for EVs from 2028 as a prime example of how unclear messaging can destabilise behaviour.
Tanya Sinclair said:
“Some in the e-mobility sector didn’t realise the new mileage tax was under consultation. That’s how unclear communication has been.
“The negative impact on market confidence began immediately, even though the policy is potentially years away.”
She warned MPs that premature or confusing announcements have already nudged some drivers away from EVs and towards full hybrids, which risks slowing decarbonisation at precisely the wrong moment.
Another major theme of her evidence was the growing impact of misinformation, which Sinclair described as a direct threat to EV uptake.
She told MPs that EVUK was created specifically to help drivers “see, feel and drive an EV” without entering a sales environment, addressing what she called the UK’s “confidence gap.”
“A rise in EV misinformation is directly affecting driver confidence and purchase intent. People need a trusted, impartial source of facts.”
Sinclair stressed that the fundamentals of the EV market remain strong, including EVs regularly deliver 300–500 miles of range, compared with under 100 miles five years ago, and charging “is working far better than public perception suggests.
In addition, EV prices are expected to reach parity with petrol cars between 2026 and 2028, with some models already at that point due to grants and manufacturer pricing.
Sinclair also highlighted outdated assumptions in early charging business models, and that drivers need to know whether charging is available in their local areas – rather than a focus on total national numbers.
Sinclair told the Committee that charging targets have prioritised quantity over usefulness, creating a distorted picture of accessibility, and also pointed to ongoing systemic challenges, including grid connection delays, planning bottlenecks and inconsistent counting of chargers across units, connectors and sites.
On van and fleet electrification, areas the committee described as “off track,” Sinclair’s said that “the single most important policy for fleet and van electrification is staying the course on the ZEV mandate. That stability will unlock scale”.
Image courtesy of EVUK
