Peter Vosper's Motoring Column

Last week a House of Lords committee report was published and the Chair of the enquiry, Baroness Parminter said: “The evidence we received shows the Government must do more to get people to adopt EVs. If it fails to heed our recommendations the UK won’t reap the significant benefits of better air quality and will lag in the slow lane for tackling climate change.”

Whilst welcoming the ZEV mandate on manufacturers (22 per cent of their sales this year), recent investment in the UK manufacturing industry and initial support for local authorities, including the Local Vehicle Infrastructure fund, the report calls for the Government to act much faster. This includes tackling the disparity in upfront costs between EVs and petrol and diesel cars and looking at targeted grants to incentivise the purchase of new electric cars.

The committee also calls on the Government to install confidence in consumers by:

• exploring options to incentivise second hand electric car sales, including adopting “a battery health standard”;

• reforming road tax to give a clear steer on future motoring costs; equalising VAT for charging by reducing the 20 per cent VAT rate applied to public charging, to five per cent in line with domestic electricity;

• communicating a positive vision of the EV transition to consumers, and promoting comprehensive, clear, and accurate information:

accelerate the roll-out of the UK’s charging infrastructure by:

• extending the LEVI funding for a further three years;

• consulting on offering “a right to charge” for tenants and leaseholders in multi-occupancy buildings; 

• reviewing planning regulation so that the roll-out of EV infrastructure is not unduly delayed by out-of-date regulation;

• consulting on mandating workplaces with designated car parking spaces to provide EV charge points:

support industry by:

• further enhancing UK manufacturing and battery innovation;

• accelerating investment in UK vehicle and battery recycling facilities;

Baroness Parminter, Chair of the enquiry said: “ Surface transport is the UK’s highest emitting sector for CO2, with passenger cars responsible for over half those emissions. The evidence we received shows the Government must do more -and quickly – to get people to adopt EVs. If it fails to heed our recommendations the UK won’t reap the significant benefits of better air quality and will lag in the slow lane for tackling climate change.”