The exponential growth of the UK electric vehicle market requires 40 to 50 charge points to be installed per day between now and 2035 to meet demand.

40 to 50 charge points must be installed per day between now and 2035 to meet demand, according to the report

According to New AutoMotive’s ‘State of Switch’ electric car report, the UK must ramp up public charger installation to keep pace with booming electric car sales.

The first annual State of Switch report from the independent transport research organisation sets out that there are currently 24,000 public charging stations including over 4,000 rapid chargers in the UK.

But it says charge points installations need to catch up with the rapidly growing number of electric cars, and that the UK requires 230,000-280,000 public charging devices by 2035 to meet demand.

It’s one of the recommendations made in the report for meeting future net zero targets and growing EV demand. The report also covers the ratio of electric to internal combustion miles travelled, the number of electric vehicles on UK roads, trends in new car sales, vehicle ownership costs and public policy developments.

Other key findings in the report are that the uptake of hybrids risks ruining the UK’s chances of hitting net zero targets. It says that based on current trends, hybrids would come to dominate the market with a 70 to 80% share by 2027 – and if this happens it would ruin the UK’s chances of hitting net zero targets.

Further key stats are that the estimated number of EV miles driven, as of 2020, is 1.65 billion while drivers will save £700+ on fuel costs each year by switching to electric.

Gi Fernando, chair of New AutoMotive, said: “The UK needs a rapid transition to electric cars to get ahead in the global race, bring down the cost of driving and to meet our environmental commitments. As our report finds, the UK has made great progress with sales of electric cars booming. But there remains a long way to go before every car on the road is electric.

“Until now data sources on electric cars have been incredibly scattered and difficult to interpret. This is why we’ve worked over the last year to create a comprehensive and independent summary analysing all relevant data in a single report.

“We’ve seen a huge uptake in EV sales over the past 12 months with sales rising by more than 30%. We hope by the time we publish the 2022 report reaching net zero emissions goals for the transport network will be firmly in our sights. These targets are achievable only if policy makers commit to the ‘electrification’ of UK roads and install the necessary infrastructure. We’re calling on all parties, industry, manufacturers and policy makers, to make significant commitments to support the continued uptake of EVs and increase investment in the infrastructure network.”

Commenting on the research, Mark Footman, chief operations officer at CitySprint, said: “The push to be more sustainable is in full swing across the world. But with COP26 just under two weeks away and businesses across the country feeling the pressure to meet net zero commitments, the vital support that UK SMEs need is still lacking.

“While we welcome governmental announcements such as the launch of the Together for our Planet campaign in May, much more needs to be done if we are to succeed in solving the environmental challenges we face.

“For example, at CitySprint, we have seen a spike in demand for larger vehicles during the pandemic and so are investing in more electric vehicles. But we need to see much more investment in the infrastructure needed to support green vehicles, such as the installation of more charging points, cycle parking and repair sites (which our research shows 41% of the UK’s SMEs feel is lacking). We also need more assistance from the government in the form of grants and financial support to enable businesses to up their environmental game and help them make the necessary long-term changes.

“With over six million SMEs across the UK (accounting for 99% of the private business sector), they have a vital role to play achieving a low-carbon economy. But the bottom line is that urgent action must be taken now and both businesses and the government alike must be willing to invest now for future gain. Only this way can we drive widespread, meaningful change.”