Only one charge point for every 53 electric cars sold

Government urged to set installation targets to bring certainty for drivers switching to green vehicles

JUST one new public charger was built for every 53 electric cars sold last year, putting the adoption of green vehicles under strain.

Figures show 368,617 plug-in cars were registered in Britain last year while just 6,949 standard chargers were installed. Last year was the lowest for charge-point installations since 2020, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said, with the rollout slowing as the year went on.

Only one charger was installed for every 62 new plug-in hybrid and battery-powered cars sold in the last three months of the year, SMMT said. The ratio is likely to fall further as sales of plug-in cars accelerate.

The industry body expects batterypowered and hybrid plug-ins to reach one in four sales this year and almost one in three next year. SMMT urged the Government to mandate charger installation targets to provide certainty for drivers switching to electric vehicles.

“The industry and market are in transition, but fragile due to a challenging economic outlook, rising living costs and consumer anxiety over new technology,” Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said.

“We look to a Budget that will reaffirm the commitment to net zero and provide measures that drive green growth for the sector and the nation.”

While many owners charge their cars at home, the industry is concerned that a lack of public chargers limits the vehicles’ usefulness to commuting and makes them unattractive to those without drives or garages.

Charging away from home costs more. The industry said the Government should slash VAT on charge-point use from 20pc to 5pc, which is the rate on domestic energy. Ginny Buckley, at electric car site Electrifying.com, said there were “signs private buyers are becoming more reluctant to switch”.

She added: “A lack of confidence in the charging infrastructure and a dearth of affordable models are making many mainstream consumers reluctant to join the electric revolution.”

A drop in the price of petrol has narrowed the advantage of owning an electric car. Pure electric car sales rose 20pc to reach 17,294 last year but this was only 13pc of new registrations, below the average for 2022 of 17pc.

While they cost more than a petrol car up front, the lower price per mile means electric cars can work out cheaper. However, this relies on users driving the necessary miles and also using cheap overnight electricity tariffs. Charging at home means each mile costs about 8p compared to 14.6p for petrol and 13.3p for diesel, according to the AA.

Those using public chargers are also grappling with complicated pricing. Networks including Ubitricity and Geniepoint have introduced “dynamic pricing” which cost more when electricity demand is high.