New study reveals UK government’s empty promises on EV charging infrastructure

A recent study has found the UK government has missed its target of having six electric-car rapid chargers per motorway service station by the end of 2023.

In March 2022, the government pledged to install at least six EV rapid, or ultra-rapid charging stations in every motorway service station by the end of 2023 in order to keep up with the surge in demand caused by the rise in the sales of electric cars.

However, according to new data published by the RAC, only four in 10 motorway service stations have been able to meet this target. Data from ZapMap shows that just 46 of  the UK’s 119 major sites have more than six rapid chargers, with Leicester Forest on the M1 and Barton Park on the A1 both having zero charging stations of this kind at all.

A spokesperson for the RAC said: “It’s clear from our research that the Government has fallen well short of its target of having six high-powered chargers at every motorway service area in England.

“There is undoubtedly an eagerness among charge point companies and motorway service station operators to install these types of units but unfortunately, it’s often the high-power cabling to the grid that’s the major barrier, which is out of their hands.”

Recent changes have paved the way for faster and more efficient chargepoint installations, though; the RAC’s study follows the Chancellor’s announcement in the government’s 2023 Autumn Statement that barriers and restrictions impeding the deployment of new rapid chargers would be eased in order to meet its goal of 300,000 public EV chargers by 2030.

All of this will be necessary as the start of 2024 also heralds the implementation of the government’s new ZEV mandate, which requires one in every five new cars sold to be fully electric – no doubt something that will further boost the number of EVs on British roads.