Government to fund thousands of EV charge points

The Department for Transport (DfT) has pledged to spend £56m installing 2,400 new electric vehicle (EV) charge points in 16 council areas across England.

The DfT said the cash injection, funded with both industry and public investment, would "energise" plans to roll out charge points across the UK.

This represents a new phase of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) scheme, first piloted in three council areas: Durham, Barnet and North Yorkshire.

The DfT will also support all 16 councils in working with private operators in the long term to install "tens of thousands more" charge points.

"The government is giving local authorities across England additional help today to energise their charge point roll-out plans.

"Today's commitment will lead to thousands of new chargers being installed, and plans for tens of thousands extra in due course, so that more people than ever can make the transition to using EVs," said Transport Minister Jesse Norman.

With just 8,680 public EV chargers installed in the UK in 2022–an increase of 31%--the government has been accused of not keeping pace with demand for infrastructure. The DfT argued that the government had already invested over £2bn in the transition to zero-emission vehicles.

Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2030.