Government and EVI

Neither national nor local government set up petrol stations, so why should they get involved with EV infrastructure? This is a common question within the industry, particularly from EV sceptics, who feel the government is working against people's wishes to continue using petrol and diesel vehicles.

There are a couple of answers. Firstly, the climate impact of petrol and diesel cars is severe, and the government consider state involvement necessary to ensure the transition away from fuel cars is as quick as the government's aims for decarbonisation. Secondly, many public chargepoints are on highway or other council land, so local governments are necessarily involved. Thirdly, the capital expenditure needed for EV chargepoints is substantial, and the government can help reduce this barrier to allow the public chargepoint network to stand on its own feet.

This section of the website contains pages on the UK government including its dedicated arm, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), local government including your local authority, funding public chargepoints, devolved functions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a reference list of various reports by government, parliament or think tanks around EVI.

The table below visualises where different responsibilities for EVI lie: