MPs criticise government's "vague and unambitious" electric vehicle plans

The report Electric vehicles: driving the transition argues that one of the key barriers to growing the UK EV market is the poor provision of charging points, and calls on the government to support local authorities and drive the installation of a network of nationwide charging points.

Chair of the committee Rachel Reeves MP said: “For all the rhetoric of the UK becoming a world leader in EVs, the reality is that the government’s deeds do not match the ambitions of their words.  If we are serious about being EV world leaders, the government must come forward with a target of new sales of cars and vans to be zero emission by 2032."

Commenting on the charging infrastructure issue Reeves said: “We cannot expect consumers to overcome ‘range anxiety’ and switch to electric vehicles if they cannot be confident of finding convenient, reliable points to regularly charge their cars. The government needs to get a grip and lead on coordinating the financial support and technical know-how necessary for local authorities to promote this infrastructure and help ensure that electric cars are an attractive option for consumers".