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AFP chair Paul Hollick says that a lack of charging infrastructure is hindering EV adoption

AFP chair Paul Hollick says that a lack of charging infrastructure is hindering EV adoption

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) says that the lack of a national strategy for kerbside charging infrastructure in the UK is the biggest barrier to electric vehicle (EV) adoption by businesses.

Currently, 75% of the cost of kerbside charging installation, which costs around £2,500 per unit, is met by a national fund paid and the remaining 25% is covered by local authorities. 

AFP chair Paul Hollick said, “We have national fleets who are AFP members and want to go 100% EV as soon as possible. The stumbling block they face is that nationally, around four out of 10 people live in apartments or terraced houses and don’t have access to on-street parking.

“That means they are reliant on local authorities to install street charging facilities but, as you’d expect, the impetus and ability to do so varies massively from area to area.”

“This leaves fleets in a position where they are having to work out which of their drivers don’t have access to kerbside charging and lobby local authorities individually for the installation of chargers in specific streets. This is proving time-consuming and not particularly effective. It is just not really working as a system and is proving to be a barrier for fleets.

“A lot of attention is being given to creating network of superchargers across the UK and that is important to the viability of EVs for fleets and for everyone else but, to our mind, the issue of kerbside charging trumps everything else. The vast majority of EVs are charged overnight and that facility needs to be made available to everyone.

The AFP says that 40% of motorists will struggle to switch to an EV, despite government incentives. 

“This is frustrating because companies like Connected Kerb and Ubertricity are creating kerbside charging solutions that are really very effective and make sense in use but they are just not being adopted quickly or widely enough.

“The fear is that that this becomes a political football where central and local government blame each other. What we really need is for the Department of Transport to grasp the nettle and create a structured national programme for kerbside charging on as many streets as possible by the end of the decade.”

We at Marshall Leasing are proud to support the AFP, where our very own Director of New Business, Richard Baird, is a board director. If you would like to find out more about how our team of experts can assist you in creating an efficient plan for preparing to restart after lockdown, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us by emailing info@marshall-leasing.co.uk or calling 01480 414541.

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