The B2B platform for full-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: Industry News

The UK has set ambitious targets for electric mobility to move the country closer to a low-carbon society. What it takes from a policy and industry perspective to get there, and why EVs do not make sense for some is discussed in Part II of this UK series based on talks between cars21.com and leading UK officials and associations.

The UK’s 230,000 target that has been set for the number of EVs on the road by the end of the 2nd commitment period is rather ambitious. Skeptics not only point to the cost of production and the infrastructure but also to the fact that this is a 20 fold increase from the 11,000 EVs that roam British roads today.

The UK Department for Transport (DfT) and the climate change committee look at this through different lenses. They are positive that government incentives will ensure a ‘fast uptake’ of EVs. They point firstly to the launch of the consumer incentive scheme in 2011 whereby consumers would be offered a reduced purchase price of between £2,000 to £5,000 for EVs and PHEVs. “In addition to these national initiatives, many regions are taking forward their own programmes of incentives; often working with a range of partners including local authorities, regional development agencies, businesses, electricity distributors and suppliers” a DfT spokesperson says. An example of this is the exemption of the congestion charge in London.

EVs & Carbon Neutrality - A natural fit?

More conservative e-mobility observers tend to point towards the greater use of carbon based fuel sources that would ultimately lie behind charging the batteries of EVs. More specifically it would not be a larger fleet that would ensure greater emissions but rather those cars that ‘charge at the margins’. These have the potential to push the carbon graph in another direction, arguing instead that the heavy investment being sought for EV’s would serve Britain better if invested in other low carbon technologies.

This however is a contentious topic. The move towards carbon neutrality, or at least cutting it to minus 80% by 2050 levels means that all sectors must be tackled which would ultimately mean that a larger fleet would need to move in hand with other strategic solutions such as better renewables and non-carbon based sources of energy.

What comes after the excise duty?

However, regarding an early move towards e-mobility, these are still considered early days with many questions still being open. Niel Wallis of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership is especially skeptical about the sincerity of these initiatives, pointing to a difference in rhetoric and the funding that has actually been provided. Looking at the enormous budget deficit of the UK, £135 billion (€150 million), he asks the question what, if EVs were to be applied massively, would compensate for a loss in excise duties currently bolstering up the UK budget. Unsolved questions about alternative income streams could trigger more questions about the rapid market uptake of EVs.