The shi􀀀 to electric cars in the UK is accelerating with more than 1 in 10 sales in 2020 [1]. Only new cars with a significant electric range can be sold in the UK from 2030 and only zero emission vehicles from 2035. The shi􀀀 to an entire fleet of BEVs will not be complete until around 2050, but creating a UK-wide, convenient, affordable charging network is a key part of the delivery plan and this briefing and supporting study detail a roadmap to create a world-class charging network.

Much of the criticism of the lack of public charging infrastructure in the UK is ill informed. There is one charge point for every 9 battery electric cars on the road today, sufficient for the number of chargeable cars on the road. Just 1% of EV drivers want to go back to a combustion engine car [2]. But tackling the poor perception of the UK charging network requires: tackling the postcode lottery in the availability of charging; addressing the poor reliability of some networks; and making it easier to access charging points. A􀀀er 2025 there will need to be a rapid and sustained increase in charging points and it is essential to create the conditions to ensure the network can grow with the number of BEVs expected on the road.

Figure A illustrates the number of charging devices to charge cars in the UK depending upon the mix of Slow (3-5 kW), Fast (7-22 kW) and Rapid (>50 kW) chargers installed. The numbers of charge points needed are lower than recent estimates by the Climate Change Committee and most other studies. This is because the approach assesses how many public charging devices will be needed to support the EV fleet and does not take into account that a more extensive network may be needed to persuade some non-EV drivers to make the switch to electric. About about two-thirds of UK homes have off street parking [3] and EVs charged at home will typically only use the public charging network on long journeys. Half of all drivers use their car so little they typically only need to fully charge their car twice a month [4] and should be able to make use of chargers located at their destination in car parks and Rapid Chargers on longer trips. Less than 1 in 20 cars need, on average, to be fully charged twice a week or more and would benefit from a kerbside charger near their home. The number of chargers needed in the future is partially dependent upon the future share of PHEVs that require a much more extensive charging network to be used widely on their batteries due to the short electric range and slow charging speed of these vehicles.