New EV charging grouping aims to double UK network in 2023
28/04/2023 24:01
By Nick Carey
LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - An industry group of nearly
20 electric vehicle (EV) charger companies said they aim to
double the size of Britain's charging network this year with
tens of thousands of new chargers, as the government tries to
wean people off combustion engines.
ChargeUK's members have cumulatively announced plans to
invest more than 6 billion pounds ($7.5 billion) installing and
operating new EV charging infrastructure by 2030.
Carmakers say that in return for the hundreds of billions of
dollars they are spending on electrification, countries like
Britain and the European Union should focus on building out
infrastructure to encourage more people to buy EVs and give them
the confidence they can find somewhere affordable to recharge.
"The formation of ChargeUK... is a demonstration of the EV
charging industry's growing size and importance to the UK
economy," Ian Johnston, chair of ChargeUK and CEO of
rapid-charging company Osprey Charging Network said in a
statement.
"We will continue to be a proactive partner to Government as
we deliver a world-class charging infrastructure, giving the
nation's drivers confidence to transition to EVs," he added.
The new group announced on Friday includes ChargePoint
CHPT.N , one of the world's largest EV charging networks, and
the EV charging units of Shell SHEL.L and BP BP.L .
Other members of ChargeUK include Ionity, which is backed by
Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE , BMW BMWG.DE and Ford F.N , and
British charging company Pod Point PODP.L .
European and U.S. cities planning to phase out combustion
engines over the next decade or so first need to plug a huge
charging gap for tens of millions of residents.
Government figures show that around 40% of Britain's 33
million cars park on the street, while around 40% of Americans
do not live in single-family homes with garages which means they
need access to public chargers.
($1 = 0.8037 pounds)
(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Alexander Smith)
((nick.carey@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7385 414 954;))