New Bill mandates chargepoint installation and insurance for driverless cars

Motorway services and large petrol retailers will be required to install chargepoints for electric cars, under plans announced in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 18 October by transport minister John Hayes.

It aims to increase the access and availability of chargepoints for electric vehicles (EVs), while giving the Government powers to make it compulsory for chargepoints to be installed across the country.

The bill also paves the way for drivers of automated cars to be insured on UK road.

The Government says that automated vehicles have the potential to greatly reduce road traffic accidents.

In 2016, 85.9 per cent of collisions causing injury involved human error, while official research estimates that the market will be worth £50 billion to the UK economy by 2035.

Hayes said: “We want the UK to be the best place in the world to do business and a leading hub for modern transport technology, which is why we are introducing the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill in Parliament and investing more than £1.2 billion in the industry.

“This bill will aid the construction of greater infrastructure to support the growing demand for automated and electric vehicles as we embrace this technology and move into the future.”

Drivers of EVs will be able to easily locate and charge at any chargepoint, using information from sat navs or mobile apps, regardless of the vehicle make or model.

All chargepoints will have to be ‘smart’, meaning they can interact with the grid in order to manage demand for electricity across the country.

Roads minister Jesse Norman said: “Automated and electric vehicles will help improve air quality, cut congestion, boost safety and create thousands of skilled jobs in the UK.

“We have already supported the purchase of 115,000 ultra-low emission cars and there are already more than 11,500 publicly available chargepoints, but the demand continues to grow as more people purchase electric vehicles to cut fuel costs and boost the environment.”

The bill received its second reading in the House of Commons on Monday 23 October.