The Department for Transport (DfT) has said that it’s sticking to its guns on plans to phase out cars solely powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) from 2030, while also revealing that it’s closing in on a vital target for ultra-rapid chargers.

There is no change to the phase-out dates nor the trajectory of the ZEV mandate in the current consultation

A meeting held earlier this week by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) quizzed senior EV officials on the recent National Audit Office (NAO) report on charge point infrastructure and any changes that might set the UK back in the rollout.

This included the current consultation on changes to the zero emission vehicles mandate – and the Public Accounts Committee asked about pressure from carmakers to water down the targets.

Richard Bruce, director at the DfT’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, said: “There are two things about the consultation worth noting. One is that it does reflect some concerns that some car companies have had, but it is very clear that there is no change to the phase-out dates, and there is no change to the trajectory of the mandate, which has these percentages: 22% last year, 28% this year, 80% in 2030, and eventually 100% in 2035. We really, really want to give certainty to both the car industry and the charge point industry about the uptake of EVs over time.”

Bruce also stressed that the ZEV mandate is designed with ‘flexibilities’ that enable carmakers to comply with targets through other measures – and that it’s changes to these that the consultation explores.

“When the mandate was designed, it was after literally years of negotiation with the car industry about what flexibility they needed to achieve it. There is lots of stuff baked into it, and they do not actually have to hit the headline percentage to become compliant and not pay a fine. Different car companies are in different places on their journey towards zero emission vehicles. Some have lots of hybrid technology; some are going to come along with lots and lots of zero emission vehicles in the next few years. The flexibilities reflect that.

“The question is whether the current suite of flexibilities – borrowing from the future, overachieving on your non-zero emission cars – is still the correct suite of flexibilities, but the headline trajectory will not be changing, because we want to give the certainty.”

Over two-thirds of motorway services have hit ultra-rapid charger target

At the meeting, DfT officials also revealed that more than two-thirds of motorway service areas (MSAs) in England have now hit a vital target for ultra-rapid chargers.

More than two-thirds of motorway services in England have hit the ultra-rapid charger goal

Jo Shanmugalingam, second permanent secretary at the Department for Transport, reported that 80 of the 114 MSAs now have at least six 50kW+ EV chargers, showing major progress on a former Conservative government ambition for this to be in place by 2024. As of July 2024, only 62% of service areas had met this goal.

Shanmugalingam also revealed that 100 motorway services expect to have met the target by this summer and 100 by the end of 2026, according to latest industry data.

She added that it had been a complicated challenge that the Government continues to work with motorway services operators on very closely.

And OZEV’s Richard Bruce said: “There are these locations that are very, very tough to get enough power to at a cost that is not prohibitive. That is the challenge we face.”

Rapid Charging Fund remains a challenge

The RAC, which says that motorway chargers are vital for giving current and prospective EV drivers the reassurance to make long journeys, has previously highlighted that the prime stumbling block is often getting the required high-powered connections to the country’s national electricity grid.

The DfT said there is much more appetite for private investment in charging, particularly at motorway services

The £950m Rapid Charging Fund (RCF), first announced in the March 2020 Budget, was meant to help with this by funding prohibitively expensive grid connections but is still not underway, despite already being trialled at 10 sites. A consultation on its design was run in early 2024 under the Conservative government but the findings are yet to be published. And the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has previously warned that the subsidies could distort competition between motorway service area operators.

Asked in the session about the progress for the RCF, Shanmugalingam said: “As with many of the other things we have been talking about, this is something where there has been more complexity, including with, as you said, grid connections and how we have worked with motorway service areas. It has taken us more time than we wanted. We are looking at it at the moment. We hope to have more news to share shortly.”

Meanwhile, Richard Bruce said the market had evolved significantly since the RCF had been announced and stressed that there is much more appetite for private investment in charging infrastructure, particularly at MSAs.

“They are seen as the crown jewels of charging locations because you have his large throughput of people having to put a lot of electricity in their vehicles. You are seeing lots and lots of private investment coming in. Macquarie announced 650 chargers at motorway service areas; that is all private money. Everything has moved on.”

Still considerable uncertainty in the projected number of charge points

The Government’s EV officials were also quizzed on whether the Government’s estimate that 300,000 public electric vehicle charge points are needed by 2030 was still correct.

Various factors are affecting projections for charge point numbers

The recent NAO report found that public EV charge point installations in the UK are on track for this target but the Public Accounts Committee asked if the number needed could be higher.

Shanmugalingam said: “The minimum number that we project we need is 300,000; there is good progress and we are pleased to be on track with that.

“The sorts of factors affecting projections include technological changes in the vehicle batteries and the charging. It is also a lot about consumer preference and habit. That is what has really driven the reduction in the range over the last couple of years. It is something that we continue to monitor on an ongoing basis, because it is uncertain at the moment.”

Asked whether the consultation on the ZEV mandate and 2030 ICE phase-out could change targets, Richard Bruce said: “The figures are 100% new zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and 80% by 2030. Those numbers are not changing with the consultation that has recently been launched. It is more about the minority of vehicles that are left on the road from 2030 to 2035 that are not EV. What technology should be allowed then? What sort of hybridisation should be permitted? For the charging sector, it is the 80% and the 100% that have really driven the investment and give great certainty.”

He also said there was a broader point on how many charge points are needed.

“There are almost two different charging infrastructures. There is what you need people to be confident in so that they can buy an EV, and there is what they will actually use; they are actually quite different. People want to see lots and lots of charge points out there, so they can think about owning an electric vehicle. What they will actually use is probably quite different, because if they have off-street parking, they will charge at home the vast majority of the time; they will not be using public charging that often.

“There is a balance to be struck with targets and numbers, and it is all in flux at the moment. The technology is in flux in terms of how good and how cheap batteries are becoming, and the behaviour of consumers is also in flux, because we are not yet sure how often they will charge publicly.”

Other key topics explored in the PAC session include charging ‘cold spots’ and how to tackle them, charge point accessibility, new guidance for cross-pavement charging solutions and the disparity in VAT charges for public and private charging and whether this will change.

The full transcript from the session is online here.