EVA England has said that millions of drivers risk being left behind unless the UK Government makes the transition to electric vehicles (EV) “fair, affordable and practical for every household”.
The comments follow the launch of a new white paper presented today (3 June) at Parliament, called Putting the Driver First, co-sponsored by Autotrader, Zapmap and EVCI, and including evidence from 2,400 drivers.
It said that the transition would “not succeed if it only works for drivers with driveways, higher incomes, new-car budgets and easy access to reliable charging”, risking “unless Government closes the gap between those who can charge cheaply at home and those who cannot, the UK risks creating a two-tier EV transition.”
The findings show growing concern over public charging costs, reliability and access: with drivers without home charging in particular facing “a very different EV reality from those who can plug in on their driveway”, it said.
Drivers without access to private charging are often pushed onto the public network, where costs can be far higher, reliability is inconsistent and the experience is still too often confusing or frustrating.
New EVA England public charging sentiment data shows that 75% of drivers say public charging costs are now the biggest barrier to driving electric; 74% said location is a prime factor; 60% also focus on price; and one in three will travel further for cheaper charging.
In addition, 57% believed public charging should cost less than 45p/kWh – far closer to the rates available to drivers with home charging.
Across 635 constituencies analysed, average EV uptake sits at only 3.95%, despite average access to on-street charging being five minutes walk away at 27.57%.
In 258 constituencies, at least a quarter of households are five minutes from an on-street charger, showing how local access will shape whether drivers believe they can switch.
Putting the Driver First argues that Government must move beyond headline targets and raw chargepoint numbers, and “focus instead on whether the transition works in real life”, it said.
This also includes affordable access to second-hand EVs, and future taxation, as well as charging infrastructure.
EVA England is calling for a practical, driver-first plan that supports households currently blocked from switching, including lower and middle-income families, renters, leaseholders, disabled drivers and those without driveways.
Dr Vicky Edmonds, Chief Executive of EVA England, said:
“EVs have already proved their place in Britain’s transport future. The real test now is whether that future works for everyone, or only for the households who already have the money, parking and charging access to make the switch easily.
“Right now, too many drivers are being asked to make the leap without a fair route across. Ministers need to cut the cost of public charging, build confidence in second-hand EVs, and remove the practical barriers facing renters, lower-income households and people without driveways.
“The transition to EVs, and net zero, will ultimately be delivered by drivers, and policy has to start with them.”
Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-founder & COO, Zapmap, said:
“We welcome the focus on accessible and affordable charging in EVA England’s Putting the Driver First white paper. The public network continues to grow and has now topped 120,000 EV chargers across en-route, destination and on-street locations, supporting nearly four million sessions every month. We now need to prepare for the next five million EV drivers, an increasing number of whom will be entirely reliant on public charging, not having the cost advantages of home charging.
“Supporting CPOs to reduce cost burdens and leveraging innovative near-home charging solutions will be crucial steps toward lowering prices for drivers and maintaining momentum in the UK’s transition to sustainable transport.”
Ian Plummer, Chief Customer Officer at Autotrader, the UK’s largest automotive marketplace, added:
“We must make sure the electric transition is accessible and equitable. Right now, there’s a real risk that certain groups of people are going to be left behind as we transition to a cleaner, and often cheaper, version of car ownership. It’s not yet clear how the Government will achieve this and we believe we need answers, a plan, a strategy, now, not later.”
Craig Marsden, CEO of EVCI, said:
“Drivers are right to demand cheaper, fairer public charging, but price only means something if the right regulatory regime is in place behind it. This includes having the right standards in place and knowing that the energy is being properly measured and going through to the chargepoint. Independent verification across several hundred charging sessions, shows a significant share of public chargers fall outside the accuracy tolerance for this that drivers are entitled to expect. You cannot have a fair transition built on measurements you cannot trust. Affordability and accuracy have to be solved together.”
Image of report courtesy of EVA England
