EV News: EV Driver Manifesto, and Reaching EV 'Tipping Point'
Read on for our summary of the latest EV news, including EVA England's latest driver manifesto and more!
EVA England Publishes EV Driver’s Manifesto
EV advocacy group EVA England has published its EV driver manifesto, calling for a change in EV charging costs and mandated enforcement of accessibility standards across the UK’s charging infrastructure.
The manifesto identifies the main high-priority areas in which EV infrastructure can improve as adoption increases. Some of the main points include:
Fairer charging costs
Touched on in our previous social posts, what EVA calls for here is ‘consistent and fair’ pricing across our network. Some of the methods they point out to address these include diverting green levies towards gas or general taxation, and lowering the VAT costs when charging on the road (currently 20%, four times the rate of charging at home).
Increased CPO powers
EVA’s manifesto argues that CPOs should be granted greater statutory powers, in line with major telecoms and electricity providers, to unlock a new wave of infrastructure at lower costs.
Lower insurance premiums
With insurance premiums rising across the board, EVs have been particularly impacted due to the low data available for the relatively nascent market. EVA England calls for premiums to be mandated in a way that better reflects the current rate of uptake.
Enforce accessibility standards
By 2035, the number of disabled EV drivers in the UK is expected to rise to around 1.35 million. According to the EVA, the current charging infrastructure does not meet their needs. Working accessibility standards are already in place, but the manifesto states that their implementation for new charging points should be mandated.
James Court, CEO of EVA England, commented: “This manifesto puts EV drivers themselves at the heart of future policy, and shows the way forward for the winner of the next general election.”
Transport Decarbonisation Minister Anthony Browne added: “With so many drivers choosing to go electric, the UK is racing towards a net zero future. The progress we’ve made so far clearly demonstrates the benefits of organisations such as EVA England and the government working together to support people to make the switch for good.”
Businesses reach EV tipping point
British van drivers believe that electric vans (EVs) have now reached the ‘tipping point’, becoming more cost-effective to run than a petrol or diesel alternative, according to a study by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK.
According to the survey, 52% of commercial drivers now believe that operating an electric van would be more cost-effective compared to petrol or diesel equivalents. More than two-thirds of the UK’s van drivers also say that EVs would suit their business needs and day-to-day work.
With a number of EV grants available to those looking to bring EV charging into their workplace operations, as well as the implementation of green policy to bring out incentives for more environmentally friendly fuel alternatives, the survey is an important marker in shifting opinions towards the vehicles in the business sector.
Markers of this can be found in the survey’s results, with almost three quarters of van drivers stating that reliability was no longer a reason not to buy an electric vehicle.
It also helps demonstrate the power of effective EV legislation, with almost one-third (29%) of respondents citing the controversial ULEZ expansion as the reason they intend to switch.
ZEV sales targets remain a talking point
We covered some of the main talking points around the ZEV new sales mandates and its impact on manufacturers in last week’s round-up, but the conversation has continued over the past week.
This comes after MPs were informed that a number of manufacturers will fall short of the 22% electric target as a percentage of total new sales across the UK for the year.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, 19.8% of new car sales are projected to be pure battery electric as an average across manufacturers. This figure includes some brands currently overperforming the target statistics, and others falling short and at risk of incurring the hefty fines attached to the mandate.
The following table, courtesy of Colin Walker via X/Twitter and New Automotive, breaks down the progress of manufacturers towards the target. Please disregard the highlighted parties.
While the table clearly illustrates that a healthy proportion of manufacturers remain in line with the targets, the failure of some of these manufacturers to meet the targets has been the focus of much of the debate. A range of factors have been attributed to these shortfalls, with David Wong of the SMMT citing falling demand, premium vehicle prices, range anxiety, and public charging infrastructure.
Still, there are positives. Issues like range anxiety, vehicle cost, and public charging infrastructure have seen significant developments in recent months. Greater vehicle ranges, the launch of exciting lower-cost options, and an increased rate of installation to reach a 60,000 public charger milestone all go some way to addressing these adoption issues. As with all nascent markets, it will take time for public perception to catch up with these improvements, but with the industry well aware of and reacting to these pain points, there are still plenty of reasons to remain optimistic.
Clenergy EV partners with Greenflux network to expand reach
Finally in EV news this week, we’re covering some news of our own!
We featured on the industry news website Trasnport+Energy this week after partnering with Dutch-based European EV charging network Greenflux to open up 4,000 Clenergy EV-owned chargers to their 350,000 drivers.
The deal will see those operating chargers on the Clenergy EV network open the door to a potentially increased utilisation rate, making new and existing sites better advertised and more profitable as they’ll become visible to the pool of 350,000 drivers that currently charge across the Greenflux network.
Expect some more news in the following weeks, as we finalise our integrations to bring Greenflux’s chargers to Clenergy EV app users…
That’s it for this week’s round-up! We hope you enjoy this catch-up on all things EV after a weekend spent (hopefully) in the sun. Make sure to stay tuned to our socials and website for weekly refreshes on the state of the EV industry, with simple insight into big changes for drivers and operators as they come.
