ChargeUK

"Unlike home energy bills, it’s now largely policy that’s inflating the cost of public charging." ChargeUK CEO Vicky Read has written for the #EnergyTransition supplement with today's @Telegraph, published by @MediaplanetUK. In it she explains how the Government can help make EVs more affordable for all, and keep the transition on track. The full article is available with the paper or online here: businessandindustry.co.uk/energy-transit…

If the ZEV mandate is weakened, "that will be the polar opposite of what you need to secure the charging rollout." 👆 ChargeUK's CEO Vicky Read speaking to Sean Farrington on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning. Vicky spoke about the huge progress the charging sector has seen over the past few years, growing to over 118,000 new public chargers. But this was delivered on the back of the government's ZEV mandate, which was weakened only last year. If it is weakened further there is a real and present threat to charging investment. Just as interest in EVs is surging due to petrol price rises, now is the time to double down on electrification, not to pull back. Government has an opportunity to do so by: ➡ Fixing the costs of public EV charging in its review. ➡ Making it more affordable for millions to drive electric. ➡ Easing car-makers' ability to sell EVs, and meet the mandate. Listen to the full interview from 24:30 on BBC Sounds here: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0…

ChargeUK and our members have sounded the alarm to government on what a weakening of the ZEV mandate would mean for charging infrastructure. In @thetimes this morning, our CEO Vicky Read states that weakening could mean hundreds of millions pulled back by investors, especially from low income areas. She told the paper that watered down sales quotas could lead to a “downward spiral” for the transition, making it harder for auto-manufacturers to sell EVs. Asif Ghafoor, CEO of @BeEV_Charging said by pushing to dilute the policy auto-manufacturers would be “sawing off the branch they’re sitting on.” Government has an opportunity now as it reviews the cost of public EV charging and the ZEV mandate to: 📉 Reduce the cost pressures on charge point operators 💷 Make driving an EV more affordable for millions 📈 Helping auto-makers sell EVs and meet the mandate #ev #EVCharging #ZEVMandate #electricvehicles thetimes.com/article/3f8c15…

⚡️🚙 @RealJodieKidd's #ElectricRoadTrip is underway! 🚙⚡️ From Land’s End to the Angel of the North, Jodie is travelling a curated route designed to highlight not just motorway services, but a growing network of chargers in rural locations, tourist hotspots and everyday destinations. ChargeUK supported members to get involved, with specially wrapped charge points marking key points along the route including Ospredy, @BeEV_Charging and @Fastned sites, with @Believ_UK, @GRIDSERVE_HQ, @powered_by_pod, Source - EV, @RawCharging and @TotalEnergies also involved. Speaking about the transition to EVs, Jodie told The @Independent's @SteveFowler: “It’s exciting. The infrastructure is there, the manufacturers are there. It’s all coming into place and the range and charge anxiety, is just lessening.” The trip is part of the @transportgovuk #GetThatElectricFeeling campaign. Read the article here: independent.co.uk/cars/electric-… Watch the video about the trip here: instagram.com/p/DWjgzLfDVZq/

"Government has an opportunity now as it reviews both the cost of public EV charging and the ZEV mandate, to deliver a win for everyone." ChargeUK CEO Vicky Read told Sky News about how investment in EV charging infrastructure is now at risk on two fronts: 1. The high policy-induced costs on the charging sector, pushing up prices for drivers. 2. The auto industry calling for the ZEV mandate targets to be weakened further. As Government reviews both, it can reestablish the virtuous circle of EV adoption and charging rollout supporting one another. 🔁 Reduce cost pressures on charge point operators to encourage charging investment and reduce driver prices, helping the auto sector sell EVs and meet the mandate 🔁 Read the full article here: news.sky.com/story/ev-charg… #zevmandate #electricvehicles

"The changes to standing charges have unfairly singled out the charging industry, penalising enterprising, pre-profit businesses for the crime of building ahead of demand – exactly what the Government needs them to do for the mandated EV sales quotas to be met." - ChargeUK CEO Vicky Read in The @Telegraph on Sunday. Charge point operators are paying 10s of thousands of pounds and even "well into six figures" per site on standing charges following Ofgem's Targeted Charging Review. As Vicky told the paper, "At a time when petrol prices are surging, EVs offer a highly affordable alternative, but only if charging is cost-effective for all drivers and the companies investing billions in infrastructure are not hamstrung by unexpectedly huge bills for grid capacity they aren’t using." As we enter a Government review into the cost of public EV charging we have a chance to reduce this burden on charge point operators and make driving an EV more affordable by: 💷 Tackling sky rocketing standing charges ⚖️ Equalising VAT with home charging 🏛️ Removing policy levies from charge point operator energy bills (as has been done for homes and energy intensive industries) ♻️ Introducing renewable electricity to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation Helping drivers save money, automakers sell more EVs and the charging industry rollout more high quality infrastructure. telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/…

⚡️Government announces £1bn for electric vans, trucks and depot charging⚡️ Jarrod Birch, ChargeUK's Head of Policy and Public Affairs has responded to the news, saying: "The direction of travel for trucks and vans is clear – electrification. We called for more enduring funding for electric trucks earlier this year and the Government has delivered. Combined with the funding for depot charging this will really help to tackle businesses' up-front costs when considering electrification. "But running costs are just as important and Government has yet to deliver a solution to the policy driven costs which inflate the bills to charge these vehicles. There is a real danger fleet owners will invest in electrification only to be crippled by high standing charges when they are well down the road. "The market requires a dedicated HGV infrastructure fund and relief for standing charges on depot charging to bring down the total cost of ownership and speed up adoption of cleaner trucks and vans.” @BusinessGreen story: businessgreen.com/news/4527451/g… @transportgovuk press release: gov.uk/government/new…

During the first evidence session of our inquiry looking into the EV transition we heard from Jarrod Birch of ChargeUK 👇 "We can no longer tell every potential EV driver that they will make a saving by switching" Watch the session in full: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/4d…

⚡️"A British success story"⚡️ That is how ChargeUK's ChargeUK's Head of Policy and Public Affairs Jarrod Birch characterised the UK's EV charging sector when speaking to the Government's Transport Select Committee this morning. In response to Committee Chair @RuthCadbury MP's opening question on the current state of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the progress being made Jarrod described the 'more than doubling' of EV charge points in three years, underpinning the growing adoption of EVs numbering over 1.8m on UK roads today. But, he acknowledged that to continue the progress that is needed there are two key issues to address – 1. Rising prices for public charging 2. More charge points in more areas Both have a single underlying driver: rising costs. The full session can be watched back here: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/4d…

The UK now has "considerably more" publicly-accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging points than petrol pumps. businessgreen.com/news/4526270/c…

"The clarity that the ZEV Mandate provides has triggered over six billion pounds worth of private sector investment in charging infrastructure." - Secretary of State for @transportgovuk, @Heidi_Labour in parliament today. Alexander was responding to Electric Vehicle APPG Chair Perran Moon MP's excellent question about this fundamental policy, which the charging sector is united in supporting.

Sorry to respond to this late but just to confirm the Government's review on the cost of public charging was announced at budget and came about as a direct result of our conversations with them following the publication of our white paper 'delivering affordable charging for all' - chargeuk.org/post/action-on… We'll be making the case for VAT, relief on standing charges (the biggest cost driver) and RTFO (which applies to electricity elsewhere in Europe but not in the UK.

@JordanEVGuy It would be a great epitaph to #QuentinWilson @fairchargeuk who tirelessly campaigned for this & would help those who rely on public charging 100% of the time it would be nice if @ChargeUK_ chipped in the other 5% to make all public charging 20% cheaper meaning 60p/kwh = 48p/kwh

UK Government set to cut VAT on public EV charging. The Government is finally admitting what EV drivers have been saying for years, public charging is unnecessarily expensive, and VAT is a huge part of the problem. Right now home charging VAT is 5%, while public charging VAT is 20%. That difference has created what campaigners rightly call a “pavement tax”, penalising drivers who don’t have driveways or home chargers. And now, even the Treasury is worried. Due to the proposed pay per mile tax in April 2028, the average EV driver would be paying £255 extra per year. One way of reducing this, is to cut public charging costs, and VAT is front and centre of those discussions. No mention of cutting fuel duty though. In fact, the fuel duty freeze is set to be lifted in September, meaning an automatic 5p per litre price rise. .

The Government's Planning and Infrastructure Bill has received Royal Assent today. It brings new law to simplify and streamline approval processes for the rollout of EV charge points on public roads. Vicky Read, chief executive, ChargeUK said: "This bill promises to help accelerate the rollout of EV charging infrastructure which the charging industry is already investing over £6bn in in order to enable the switch to electric vehicles. Following this important milestone we look forward to working with Government to ensure that we can continue to keep the pace of deployment of widespread and affordable charging on track." @mhclg @transportgovuk @energygovuk gov.uk/government/new…

🚛⚡️The Government needs to take action and collaborate with industry to break the deadlock on HGV electrification. ⚡️🚛 ChargeUK's new publication, Electrifying Freight: A roadmap for electric HGV charging, explains what's needed. It recommends: 🔓 Unlocking infrastructure investment, by creating a dedicated HGV infrastructure fund, fast-tracking grid connections for HGV charging sites and including renewable electricity in the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation. 🧭 Providing market certainty through regulation, through a clear regulatory framework which guarantees electrification and aligning regulatory and technical approaches with the European market. 💷 Closing the cost gap for fleets by enabling electricity crediting for depot charging, addressing the high cost of electricity and enhancing upfront cost support to address total cost of ownership. Read the full announcement and download the roadmap here: chargeuk.org/post/governmen…

Responding to the EU's revisions to emissions requirements for automakers announced today, Vicky Read, chief executive, ChargeUK said: “This adjustment does not change the fact that the transition to EVs is happening. The sale of almost all petrol and diesel cars will cease across the EU by 2035 if not before. Any thought of reopening discussion about the UK's own ZEV mandate, which already contains flexibilities to support car manufacturers, would be a major over reaction putting billions of investment in charging at risk and undermining driver confidence. “EV sales have been consistently strong in the UK, supported by the mandate and an EV charging industry that is investing billions of pounds in private capital to roll out critical infrastructure ahead of forecasted demand. The UK's focus should now be on building on this progress and supporting even more drivers to switch. We should not be looking over our shoulder at the rest of Europe but ahead, towards a future where the UK is a clean transport leader.”

‘The charging sector is investing billions of pounds in the UK, creating jobs as well as a nationwide infrastructure which is critical to drivers and to car manufacturers in order to sell EVs. ‘This is all underpinned by the certainty of the ZEV Mandate — to weaken it would be to pull the rug from underneath this industry yet again' - Vicky Read in the @MetroUK today following opposition's announcement they would scrap the ZEV mandate. metro.co.uk/2025/12/15/tor…

In response to calls for the UK to rethink the ZEV Mandate following discussion of the EU's targets, Vicky Read, chief executive, ChargeUK has said: "A UK mandate that was reviewed and adjusted just eight months ago to respond to car makers' concerns should not be the subject of debate once again. The EU’s direction matters to the UK, but the discussion in Brussels is essentially a rerun of arguments the UK already addressed in Spring. "The charging sector is investing billions of pounds in the UK, creating jobs as well as a nationwide infrastructure which is critical to drivers and to car manufacturers in order to sell EVs. This is all underpinned by the certainty of the ZEV Mandate — to weaken it would be to pull the rug from underneath this industry yet again. "Our sector has already delivered close to 90,000 public charge points, building ahead of demand. To continue to do this we need policy stability, not knee jerk reactions, so that the charging sector has the confidence it needs to keep investing.

What was in the Budget for EVs? 🛣️ electric Vehicles Excise Duty 🚗 Boost for the Electric Car Grant ⚡️ Business rates relief for EV charging bays 📋 Review of public charging costs 🔌 £200m new funding for charge point rollout Our full analysis: chargeuk.org/post/chargeuk-…

We've published an open letter to Chancellor @RachelReevesMP asking for action to promote affordable EV charging. Our CEO Vicky Read spoke to BBC London about what we're calling for on business rates, standing charges and VAT. Read the full letter here: chargeuk.org/post/open-lett…

Sky high energy costs and unequal VAT are already putting pressure on public EV charging prices. A £100m annual business rates bill that could force site closures, slow investment and force driver prices up further. theguardian.com/environment/20…