The Government is being urged to ‘level up’ the charge point infrastructure across the country as new figures reveal national inequalities in coverage.

Fleet Evolution founder and managing director Andrew Leech

Latest figures show that Westminster – which has one of the most comprehensive public transport networks in the UK – has some 1,095 public charge points for electric vehicles.

That’s more than the total number of 977 charge points across Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle.

Andrew Leech, founder and managing director of EV salary sacrifice specialist Fleet Evolution, said the inconsistencies were a “national disgrace” and urged immediate action as it highlighted the impact on EV adoption.

“Allegedly, the Government’s priority this year and for the rest of this Parliament is to ‘level up’ the country in terms of wealth creation, employment and opportunity, with a focus on bringing the north of the country into line with the south,” said Leech.

“But, at a time when many companies are looking to go electric to meet national and local sustainability targets, they are being held back by a lack of investment in public charge points across the north – and especially in our major northern cities which have some of the densest populations in the country.

“It does seem that, away from the Westminster bubble, there is again one rule for some and another rule for the rest of us,” he continued.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has already raised concerns about the level of government investment in public charging points, saying it has not kept pace with the surge in electric vehicle ownership.

And recent research carried out by Fleet Evolution with Aston University explored the key obstacles in making the transition and saw some 36% of respondents cite cost, 28% said range anxiety and 25% said lack of public charging.

Charging infrastructure was an area where lack of detailed knowledge was clearly apparent, with some 67% of those surveyed saying they did not live within five minutes of a public charge point.

Andy Leech said: “While the figures are growing nationally, and with the Prime Minster announcing in November that up to 145,000 charge points are to be installed across the country each year through to 2030, it seems ludicrous that there is still such a huge disparity between north and south – especially when our survey showed that public charging was of such great concern to so many people.

“City councils need to step up to the plate and install the requisite infrastructure to support the growing numbers of EVs. Merely creating Clean Air Zones without offering sufficient charge points is simply kicking the can down the road,” he said.

Leech has also questioned the Government’s recent decision to axe the £350 grants for home chargers for people in single-unit properties, which takes effect from the start of April and coincides with the energy price hike – further pushing up the cost of charging for EV drivers.

“When you factor in the well-publicised rising cost of electricity from April, it’s clear charging costs are going to rise. The withdrawal of government funding looks particularly ill-timed,” said Leech.

To help its fleet clients, Fleet Evolution can factor the cost of installing a home charger into their monthly rental, so spreading the cost over the life of the lease.

It’s also working to help businesses make charging more widely available by offering free installation of two-port chargers at the office car park of any customer with more than five of Fleet Evolution’s cars on its fleet.