£15 million investment will expand EV charging network

A £15 million investment by the Highways Agency will add thousands of new chargepoints at key locations across the UK’s road network and is set to be completed by 2020.

It will mean that 95 per cent of the time, motorists will be no more than 20 miles from a chargepoint. Wherever feasible these will be rapid chargers, which are capable of charging an electric vehicle to 80 per cent of capacity in less than 30 minutes.

There are currently 8,500 chargepoints installed at nearly 3,000 locations across the UK, 750 of which are rapid chargers. By the end of the year almost every motorway service station will have a rapid charger.

This major commitment is part of the Government’s existing support for the ultra low emission vehicle (ULEV) market and infrastructure.

The Government and the automotive industry have also partnered to form the ‘Go Ultra Low’ campaign, which aims to help UK motorists understand the benefits, cost savings and performance features of the wide range of ultra low emission vehicles available today, including electric, plug-in hybrid and extended range vehicles.

Alex Michaelides, a spokesperson for the Go Ultra Low campaign, said: “We know from our research that ‘range anxiety’ is one of the major concerns motorists have when considering an ultra low emission vehicle.

“The news that you’ll never be more than 20 miles from a chargepoint means that this worry will no longer be a factor.”