March was a bumper month for battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake but lack of collaboration could hinder future adoption and decarbonisation goals.

Maria Bengtsson, electric vehicle lead at EY UK

A new study by Eurelectric, the federation of the European electricity industry, and EY says that BEVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are expected to account for 93% of total UK vehicle sales by 2030.

Meanwhile, amid the already-growing appetite for EVs in the UK, EY’s latest Mobility Consumer Index highlighted that 38% of UK consumers are leaning towards an EV or a hybrid as their next purchase.

But such growing demand highlights infrastructure gaps and ensuring a seamless transition to EVs – and persuading those still reluctant to shift – will necessitate charging infrastructure and supply chain development to be both accelerated and optimised in the coming years.

The report, which includes insights from industry leaders across automotive, utilities, fleet management, city planning and charging infrastructure, identifies six essentials across the eMobility value chain.

These include resilient supply chains and vital raw materials; clean and green power production; accessible charging infrastructure; the integration of EVs with smart grid technology; digital platforms and mobile applications to optimise EV charging; and finding and training the next-generation workforce.

The study also says that utilities must take on a much more customer-facing and technology-dependent role, engaging proactively with city planners and continue building out networks that allow renewables, and other forms of distributed assets, to connect to the grid. Furthermore, they must manage new load at the point of charging and pursue new technologies that enable the two-way flow of energy across the system.

Maria Bengtsson, electric vehicle lead at EY UK, said: “The infrastructure challenges facing the UK’s EV transition are significant, but they are contributed to by a range of factors. For example, in order for the rollout of EV chargers to be scaled up, the application process for grid connections has to be smoother and faster, access to key potential sites for chargers has to be easier and, once installed, chargers have to be more reliable. A successful roll out of charging infrastructure is needed to encourage more consumers and corporates to make the transition to electric and keep the UK on track to end the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles in 2030.”

The EY/Eurelectric study calculates that, by 2040, the total number of residential, private and public chargers needed in Europe will top 140 million (88% will be destined for home charging) to service an estimated 239 million EVs.

In the UK, a total of 20 million EV chargers are expected to be required by 2040, 88% of which would be required in private homes

The Eurelectric/EY report is here.