Last week’s poll: electric car charging infrastructure

Last week the Department for Transport announced an additional £2.5m to install over a thousand electric vehicle charging points on residential roads, a doubling of previously available funds. The grant is intended to help people who do not have off-street parking to access charging points, and thereby to encourage the take-up of electric vehicles. This, the Department’s announcement states, will support the UK’s commitment to reach net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.

But some experts raised doubts about the wisdom of the policy, pointing to uncertainty around consumer behaviour in relation to EV charging, as well as technology type (AC versus DC) and disparity of operating systems. We asked our readers what they thought of the move, inducing a huge response (more than 1,100) split right down the middle of the two leading options. Perhaps reflecting wider scepticism on EVs in general, 45 per cent of respondents said the move was a poorly-thought-through gimmick from the government. Conversely, 44 per cent felt that the funding was a welcome step. Six per cent believed the policy would be ineffective due to its timing, while five per cent chose the 'none of the above' option.