The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has called for mandated targets for infrastructure rollout that would be backed by the independent regulator.
The UK currently faces vast regional discrepancies on charging points across the country, with 102 public charging devices per 100,000 people in London compared to just 24 charging devices per 100,000 people in the North West.
Since 2011, government, local authorities and the charging infrastructure sector have delivered a 3,000 per cent increase in the number of standard public chargepoints, but as demand for electric vehicles has surged – accounting for more than one in six new cars in 2021 – standard public charging infrastructure has struggled to keep pace.
The number of plug-in cars on the road grew by over 280 per cent between 2019 and 2021, but standard chargepoints increased by just 70 per cent in the same period, SMMT said.
Although most current plug-in car users charge at home, public...