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2017: The Year of the Electric Car

02 January 2017

In an attempt to encourage the uptake of electric cars, in 2017 the government will introduce changes that will make electric cars more affordable, more accessible, and a more attractive proposition than tradition petrol and diesel vehicles.

In September, MPs released a report that showed that our uptake of electric cars is way below their expectations. The government’s aim is for 9% of new cars and vans in the UK to be classed as ultra-low emission vehicles (electric cars being classed as ultra-low emission) by 2020. The report shows that current projections only take us to 7%, way below where we should be at this point.

Something needs to be done. But what are the government’s plans to increase the uptake of electric cars?

Price moderation.

The government fears that high prices are putting people off buying the environmentally friendly cars, with them being as expensive to run as diesels. As it stands, electric car owners can expect to pay up to £7.50 for a half an hour charge at car charging stations, with prices currently differing massively dependant on location and provider. The plan is to establish a common pricing structure between suppliers and introduce a cap on how much stations can charge to try to bring down the cost of running an electric car and encourage more people to go down the ultra-low emission vehicle route.

Remove the need for multiple memberships across suppliers.

As it stands, electric car owners need to be a member (with a monthly membership fee) of a particular charging supplier in order to get the best prices at their stations and avoid a ‘pay as you go’ fee. There are around 11,000 charging stations in the UK, owned by many different charging providers, which makes it frustrating and confusing for electric car owners to choose which company to become a member of. The government’s plan is to remove the need for multiple memberships, making it so that one membership will give you access to any charging station owned by any provider.

Change is coming.

The Modern Transport Bill will be presented to the government early 2017, and will propose these changes to the pricing and membership structure in the electric car charging industry. A spokesperson for the Department for Transport told The Times:

‘We are looking at ways to make public charge points more convenient for motorists, such as simplifying memberships, making pricing more consistent and transparent and making charge points easier to operate.’

So, expect to see some exciting changes in the coming months for electric car owners. Hopefully, it will soon not only be the most environmentally friendly form of private transport, but will also be the most cost effective.

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