EV Sales Are Surging, But Are Charging Points Too Scarce?

23 May 2019

The number of EV charging points across the UK is set to grow exponentially.

The paradox of electric vehicle adoption has always been that there aren’t enough charging stations to top up the batteries, and not enough companies have been willing to invest in building the infrastructure for such a small market.

However, early adopters of EVs have proven electric cars to be practical day-to-day provided they use careful planning and under the right circumstances.

From Futuristic Fantasy to Today’s Technology

Importantly, electric car design has moved out of the futuristic concept car showroom and into almost being “disguised” as normal looking – There is little difference in the styling of the latest Nissan Leaf and the petrol or diesel Micra.

It’s now within the imagination of many regular drivers to own an EV within 4 or 5 years.

Yet there are still barriers to entry, the most significant of which is range anxiety – not enough places to charge EV batteries along our journeys.

A substantial increase in charging points would soothe range anxiety and potentially push sales figures of EVs into the mainstream, alongside petrol cars.

80,000 more EV charge points needed by 2020

But the scales are tipping every week. In fact, there are now around 23,000 EV charge points here in the UK according to Zap-Map. This is almost a 50% increase in the space of a year.

How many is enough? According to recent research, the UK is going to need an extra 80,000 EV charging points installed by 2020 to meet demand. This is a seriously tall order, even given the multi-million-pound schemes backed by the government to boost local council infrastructures.

New Skills Needed in Automotive and Infrastructure

With the inevitable increase in production of electric vehicles and the infrastructure to charge them, the automotive industry needs new skills to stay ahead of demand.

Electric motors have far fewer mechanical parts than internal combustion engines, plus more complex electronics and advanced batteries.

If you have skills and experience in the fields of electronics, robotics or stored energy, drop us your CV or browse our Automotive jobs. You could find yourself at the forefront of the industry working with one of our forward-thinking clients.