The UK government has proposed making it mandatory for all new houses to be built with electric car charging points, as part of widespread efforts to cut emissions. The proposal is part of a package of measures that have been mooted by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling as the UK seeks to ban the sale of fossil fuel powered vehicles by 2040.
The package of measures, which form the Government's Road to Zero Strategy, includes other ideas such as:
- New street lights to include in-built charging points where there is on-street parking.
- The launch of a £400m Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund to help accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure by providing funding to new and existing companies that produce and install charge points.
- Creating a new £40 million programme to develop and trial innovative, low cost wireless and on-street charging technology.
- Providing up to £500 for electric vehicle owners to put in a charge point in their home through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme. And, an increase in the value of grants available to workplaces to install chargepoints so people can charge when they are at work.
- The extension of the Plug-In Car and Van Grants to at least October 2018 at current rates, and in some form until at least 2020, allowing consumers to continue to make significant savings when purchasing a new electric vehicle.
- The launch of an Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce to bring together the energy and automotive industries to plan for the increase in demand on energy infrastructure that will result from a rise in the use of electric vehicles.
These proposals are being further bolstered by a new piece of legislation, the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill, which will provide new powers to ensure chargepoints are easily accessed and used across the UK.
The government expects the transition to be led by industry and consumers and a review of the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles will take place in 2025 to consider what interventions are required if not enough progress is being made.
Commenting on the proposals, Chris Grayling, the UK’s Secretary of State for Transport, said:
“The coming decades are going to be transformative for our motor industry, our national infrastructure and the way we travel. We expect to see more change in the transport sector over the next 10 years than we have in the previous century.”
“We are expecting our economy and society to experience profound change, which is why we have marked the future of mobility as one of the 4 grand challenges as part of our modern Industrial Strategy.”
“The Road to Zero Strategy sets out a clear path for Britain to be a world leader in the zero-emission revolution- ensuring that the UK has cleaner air, a better environment and a stronger economy.”
There are already more than 150,000 ultra-low emission vehicles on British roads. With these new proposals on the way, expect that number to increase dramatically over the next decade- bringing with it significant changes for the UK’s automotive labour market.
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