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‘Over-reliance’ on public charging infrastructure stalling EV take-up – survey

Charging issue is ‘particularly problematic’ for those drivers living in a flat, the study has found.

File photo dated 04/04/24 of an electric vehicle charging station at Skelton Lake Service Station in Leeds. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said that sales of pure battery electric new cars outperformed the market last month, as some 26,031 of the vehicles were registered in May, up 6.2% from the same month last year. Issue date: Thursday April 4, 2024.
Electric car sales File photo dated 04/04/24 of an electric vehicle charging station at Skelton Lake Service Station in Leeds. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said that sales of pure battery electric new cars outperformed the market last month, as some 26,031 of the vehicles were registered in May, up 6.2% from the same month last year. Issue date: Thursday April 4, 2024. (Danny Lawson/PA)
By Jack Evans, PA Motoring Reporter

An over-reliance on the UK’s public charging network is providing a stumbling block for overall electric vehicle take-up, a new study has found.

Public charging reliance is particularly high with flat residents who have no access to home charging, with over 70 per cent stating that they rely entirely on the public charging network to top-up their cars. It adds to 53 per cent of drivers living in flats being unaware of the private charging solutions available to them.

The survey of 1,254 consumers and property managers by EV charging expert ChargeGuru found that 40 per cent of residents say that making the switch to an electric vehicle is made more difficult by their living situation with flat residents having to rely solely on public charging rather than a standard wallbox as used by most EV drivers with off-street parking.

Denis Watling, Managing Director, ChargeGuru UK, comments: “These insights underscore the urgent need for property managers to work alongside residents and the industry to provide, or at least provide for, residential EV charging infrastructure.

“There is clearly an appetite among flat residents to get on board with the EV transition, but the fact remains that to do so effectively, there must be significant improvements in private residential EV charging options. People who live in flats represent a significant segment of the population – over five million people – and their challenges in accessing convenient and affordable charging solutions risk holding back the broader transition to EVs.”

At present, only one in ten flat residents currently drive an EV, though the survey also found that over half are hoping to switch to an electric vehicle ‘in the coming years’ with 27 per cent stating that they intend to make the change within the next one to two years. This figure rises to 34 per cent among 25 to 34-year-olds.

Currently, flat owners and landlords are able to take advantage of one of the few EV chargepoint grants currently available which offers either £350 or 75 per cent off the cost to buy and install a charging point – whichever amount is lower. Landlords can get up to 200 grants each financial year for residential properties or 100 grants per year for commercial properties, too.

A specific EV infrastructure grant can give money off the cost of the wider building and installation work surrounding chargepoint installation, too,