It will be less expensive for individuals to purchase an electric car, the transport secretary has informed the BBC. But Heidi Alexander refused to respond affirmatively as to whether it would provide grants to persuade motorists to make the switch when asked by Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday after a report by the Telegraph that Labour will announce £700m worth of subsidies.
Instead, she highlighted a £25m fund to be spent by councils fitting “cross-pavement gullies”, making it more convenient for households without driveways to charge an electric vehicle (EV), as well as £63m for charging points. The Conservatives received the funding warmly but criticised the government for “forcing” families into purchasing “costly” EVs.
The typical price of a brand new EV in the UK is close to twice that of an average petrol vehicle at £22,000 – although certain Chinese manufacturers are starting to sell their electric cars for as low as £18,000. Alexander said to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “We are going to be making some announcements later this week on how we make it more affordable for people to buy an electric vehicle.”
When pressed on whether this would be in the form of tax-funded subsidies, such as in the US, as has been reported, Alexander would not confirm, twice mentioning an announcement later this week. But she added, “I can promise to your viewers that we will be making it more affordable for those who do wish to transition to an electric vehicle.”
The Department for Transport would not comment further. An estimated one in five new cars sold in the first half of the year were electric, the latest figures from the UK car industry association, the SMMT, show. Sales are still far short of government-imposed targets for manufacturers, however, ahead of a ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
Alexander explained to the Telegraph that the expense of electric vehicles was deterring people. It was correct that the government considers in the round how we can act to address both of the issues, on charging and on the purchase upfront cost,” she said to the paper. But shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Richard Fuller MP claimed Labour was “pushing families into more costly electric cars ahead of time when the nation isn’t prepared.”.
Along with cost, reluctance to purchase EVs can frequently stem from so-called “range anxiety” – fear of running low on power without an available charging point. In an attempt to counter this, the government announced it would spend £63m on a campaign to extend the charging points across the UK. Alexander explained the funding would be used to signpost bigger EV charging hubs along main A-roads.
Edmund King, the AA president, described actions like this as “vital” to build trust in the shift to EVs. TV motoring presenter Quentin Wilson said he had been calling for better signs two years ago, accusing the government of “doing this far, far too slowly”. He explained to BBC Breakfast: “There is so much more that the government ought to be doing and they’re not, and one of the reasons is because people on the front bench, they do not drive electric cars. They do not own them themselves.”
Asked if she owned an electric car, the transport secretary replied she did not because she lived in a terraced house with no driveway. I don’t own an electric car,” she replied. “Like many people in this nation, I purchased a new car some six years ago. I am thinking about the next car I will buy, and it will certainly be an electric vehicle,” she went on.
For individuals with no off-street parking, such as residents of blocks of flats or terraced housing, charging an EV overnight can frequently prove problematic, and on-street charging points might be significantly more costly than charging from the mains.
