Britain only has 15 percent of the electric car chargepoints needed to meet net zero and there is the risk of a ‘two-tier transport’ system with those who cannot charge or afford EVs being locked out, warns Labour.
Chargepoint access across Britain is patchy, with those in the North and the Midlands facing far more challenges in living with an electric car than London or the South.
This is due to the “serious disparity” in the number of charging pints.
EV drivers are four times more likely to find a charging point in London than in Yorkshire.
Currently, there are just under 23,000 public charging points across the UK – compared to the 150,000 required by 2025 according to the Committee on Climate Change.
What’s more, Labour says the controversial decision to cut plug-in car grants risks pricing some families out of future car ownership.
Labour says it would offer long-term interest-free loads to those on low and middle incomes to buy new and used electric cars.
It would also trial a national scrappage scheme.
‘Baked in unfairness’
“It’s right to be setting 2030 as the phase-out date for new petrol and diesel cars,” said Labour shadow business secretary Ed Miliband, “but government is just not providing the support, strategy and leadership to make this transition.
“Government rhetoric is simply not matched by action and delivery.”
Mr Miliband warned the failure to roll out charging points across the UK – coupled with the cut in plug-in car grants – “risks baking in unfairness in our country as we move towards a zero-emission future”.
He called on the government to step up support for new gigafactories, help those on lower and middle incomes afford EVs and ensure charging points roll out across the country.
Labour would part-finance three new, additional gigafactories by 2025 and treat chargepoint delivery as a national infrastructure project led by the government.
Ed Miliband will be among the speakers at today’s SMMT International Automotive Summit in London. Motoring Research is attending the event and will report throughout the day.
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