Volume car maker Vauxhall is opening a new front in its three month old Electric Streets of Britain campaign, allying with a data provider to pinpoint for councils and highway authorities the best spots to instal EV chargers.
Online car marketplace Carwow is the manufacturer’s partner, contributing its extensive database.
Its figures reveal that 15% of 320,000 car purchase enquiries so far in 2023 have been for EVs.
Even with Rishi Sunak’s slowing of the government’s mandate to stop the sale of new ICE vehicles cars by 2035, Britain faces – or so the partners’ numbers indicate – a widening gap between customer interests in EVs and cash-strapped councils’ ability to install public charge points.
Over 45,000 EVs were registered in the UK last month, a new peak of 17% of the new car market. Over the same period a mere 1,432 public EV charging devices were added to industry bellwether ZapMap’s database.
Over 70% of UK councils lack a published strategy for residential on-street charging, research for Vauxhall’s Electric Streets of Britain campaign has found. Almost the same share, 69% of local authorities, are yet to install their first on-street charger.
An estimated 80% of EV charging at present takes place in home driveways or on-street. Yet 40% of all households do not have access to off-street parking; in towns and cities, that figure rises above 60%.
As part of its Electric Streets campaign, Vauxhall has set up an enablement fund to improve councils’ understanding of EV charging needs on-street outside Britain’s homes. Insights have come through its work with charging operators char.gy, Connected Kerb and SureCharge.
Vauxhall managing director James Taylor commented: “We know that over 70% of UK councils have no published strategy for residential on-street charging and want to help local authorities install charging infrastructure where it’s needed, so car buyers are not put off by a lack of available charging as the number of EVs on the road grows.
“From 2035, Government mandate dictates that all new cars sold must be electric, and this data shows there is work to do to support consumers making the switch. Electric Streets is just part of a package of measures Vauxhall is introducing to improve accessibility, including everything from investing in EV manufacturing in the UK, at our Ellesmere Port facility, to introducing long term PCP deals.”
The government’s zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate comes into force next year. It requires a minimum 22% of cars, and 10% of vans, sold by manufacturers to be electric.
carwow’s share of enquiry by fuel type data demonstrates that nationwide interest in electric vehicles needs to increase by 7% if car makers are to hit the UK’s mandated 22% EV market share next year.
The Electric Streets programme also includes a new national database at http://electricstreets.co.uk/ for the public to register their charging needs. carwow has joined the initiative to help drive EV adoption.
Carwow’s commercial director Sepi Arani said: “People across Britain are looking to make the switch to electric, as we move from the innovators and the early adopters already driving EVs to the early majority.
“Our data clearly demonstrates strong and consistent interest in EVs, despite some motorists living in areas with little private off-street parking“.
In its line-up from 2024, Vauxhall will offer a fully electric version of every car and van model.
