Major Developments in 2023
In 2023, the UK Government announced the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate which, when announced, was the most ambitious framework for the switch to electric vehicles (EVs) in the world.
This requires 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain to be zero emission by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035.
The 2035 end-of-sale date puts the UK in line with other major global economies, including France, Germany, Sweden, and Canada.
The UK continues to be a leader in the transition to net zero, with EVs making up 16% of the car market in the first half of 2023– higher than the EU average of 13%.
The UK’s charging network also continues to grow at pace – there are now over 61,000 public chargepoints, as of as of May 1st 2024. Around 97% of motorway service areas in England have open access charging available, with 850 rapid (50kW)
and ultra-rapid (150kW+) chargers across the motorway service area network.
In 2023, the total number of public charging devices increased by 45%, whilst rapid charging device numbers increased by 52%, putting the country well on track to reach 300,000 chargepoints by 2030.
In March 2023, the UK launched the $483 million (USD)* Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to support local authorities (LAs) in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. With heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) alone contributing 19% to all transport emissions, the UK is investing $254 million (USD) across 4 innovative green projects as part of the zero emission HGV and infrastructure demonstrator programme. The programme will support up to 370 zero emission HGVs in battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell technologies along with up to 50 battery electric charging sites and up to 7 hydrogen refuelling stations. This programme will help to set road freight on the path towards net zero, driving innovation and creating new jobs.
To increase confidence in the charging network and reduce charging anxiety, the UK introduced regulations (the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023) to improve the consumer experience across the public charging network and has published
accompanying guidance. The regulations, which came into force in November 2023, will ensure that pricing information and payment methods are simplified, chargepoints are reliable, and public chargepoint data is freely available.
The UK also published the Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Action Plan, setting out steps being taken to seize on the significant potential of smart charging and make it the preferred method of long duration charging by 2025. It is expected that high mileage motorists could save up to $1,250 (USD) a year through smarter charging.
*Please note that all £ to $ conversions are at 5 March 2024 rate of 1GBP=1.2684USD.
Outlook
2024 will be another vital year for the UK’s drive to decarbonise our road transport. The Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order 2023, also known as the VETS Order delivering the ZEV mandate, entered into force in Great Britain on 3rd of January
2024.
The UK announced that Plug-in Grants will continue until at least the financial year 2023/24 for motorcycles, and 2024/25 for taxis, vans, trucks, and wheelchair accessible vehicles.
In December 2023, a $89 million (USD) pilot for the Rapid Charging Fund (RCF) opened for applications. This pilot is intended to focus on future-proofing electrical capacity at motorway service areas in England to support a visible and functional long-distance charging network, which is vital for mass EV adoption.