Following the release of charging device statistics which show there are more 250,000 home charging devices, but just 2,038 devices installed through the on-street residential charging scheme1, Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “The latest new car sales show there is a strong appeal for electric cars2, but if we want to see a seismic shift away from combustion vehicles then more needs to be done to improve the charging network.
“On-street residential chargepoints are key for the 40% of households without dedicated off-street parking and we need to see significant investment in this area. As a previous AA investigation showed, many councils don’t have plans to install on-street chargers and some that have been granted funds have used it to install in town centre car parks3.
“There is also a danger that policy makers think on-street charging is only an urban issue, but there are many rural communities that need on-street charging infrastructure. We would also like to see VAT set at 5%, mirroring domestic charging rates to avoid the creation of a two-tier system.”
Cousens continues; “We also believe that the scaling back of the home charging grant from 1 April4 sends the wrong message at a time when EV sales are booming. With the right incentives and support, the Chancellor could turbo-charge the electric revolution in his Spring Statement5.”
*Article Source www.aa.com
