ChargeUK, the voice of the UK’s EV charging infrastructure industry, has today written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to ‘stand firm’ on the transition to electric vehicles.

ChargeUK’s 23 members are investing over £6 billion to 2030 in rolling out EV charging infrastructure. They have warned that current policy uncertainty puts that investment and the jobs that go with it in danger and jeopardises the government’s ambition to deliver the world-class charging infrastructure that is absolutely fundamental to delivering net zero road transport.

The organisation welcomed the Prime Minister’s commitment to 2030 as the start date for the gradual phase out of petrol and diesel cars.

But they highlighted the need for certainty to support investment, jobs and the wider transition to electric transport. The Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) mandate is due to come into effect from 2024. ChargeUK members are already delivering EV infrastructure across the UK at an unprecedented rate but warned that continued exponential growth must be underpinned by certainty.

The letter states, “Watering down the original ambitions of the ZEV mandate will mean billions of pounds of investment, thousands of new and green jobs and the supply of second hand EVs are put at risk. This EV supply and the resultant second hand EV market are vital to helping reduce the cost of driving for people across the country and can only be realised with a clear ZEV mandate.”

The full text of the letter reads:

Dear Prime Minister,

As the voice of the UK charging infrastructure industry, we strongly welcome your public commitment to 2030 as the start date for the gradual phase out of petrol and diesel cars.

Decarbonising road transport is essential for reducing the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. As the government has said: “zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) are the only way to decarbonise road transport in line with the UK’s net zero legislation”.  We know that the transition to ZEVs won’t take place overnight, so a strong mandate is equally important to securing the UK’s path towards a commercially sustainable automotive sector.

Our members fully support the government in this transition. That is why our members are investing over £6 billion to 2030 to roll out EV infrastructure in all parts of the UK at an unprecedented rate, creating new and sustainable jobs, supporting the switch to EVs and reducing emissions. In little over a decade, the UK’s charging sector has grown from nothing to a multi-billion-pound industry and a globally renowned British export.

We have been able to invest and deploy at this scale and rate thanks to government commitment to the transition to EVs, but to go further and faster our sector now needs certainty in the form of a firm commitment to a strong ZEV mandate. Watering down the original ambitions of the ZEV mandate will mean billions of pounds of investment, thousands of new and green jobs and the supply of second hand EVs are put at risk.

This EV supply and the resultant second hand EV market are vital to helping reduce the cost of driving for people across the country and can only be realised with a clear ZEV mandate.

We urge you to stand firm to the ZEV mandate. It is imperative for industry and for consumers. We have an opportunity to be a world leader in the global transition to Net Zero, whilst creating jobs and driving down costs for people here in the UK – that is an opportunity that must be seized.

Yours sincerely,

ChargeUK – The Voice of the UK’s Charging Infrastructure Industry

ChargeUK spokespeople are available for further comment or interview. Please contact James Millar on 07719875884 or by emailing [email protected].

ChargeUK is a trade body representing 23 companies that install and operate electric vehicle charge points in the UK. It launched in April 2023 with the announcement that its members have committed over £6bn in investment in the UK’s EV charging infrastructure network to 2030.

The trade body is committed to working collaboratively with government to accelerate the rollout of EV charging infrastructure and to make the UK the best place in the world to own and drive an EV.

Weakening the ZEV mandate will undermine infrastructure investor confidence at a key time for investors to make decisions on future funding. This in turn would risk the UK’s ability to meet legally-binding net zero emissions reduction targets.

In June, ChargeUK welcomed the announcement that Tata will build a multi-billion pound car battery plant in the UK.

According to Zap Map, the charge point installation rate has increased over 80% in the first half of 2023: https://www.zap-map.com/news/charge-point-installation-rate-increase