Do not have chargepoint anxiety

“Chargepoint anxiety hits the switch to electric cars” was the headline on a Daily Mail business page story last Friday.

It said that demand for electric cars is being held back by chargepoint anxiety as drivers worry about the cost and convenience of going green.

And backing up that worry the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) says it expects plug-in battery electric vehicles (EVs) to account for 18.4 per cent of new vehicles this year and 22.6 per cent next year.

Worryingly, this is down from previous forecasts of 19.7 per cent and 23.3 per cent.

So, I welcome Gloucestershire County Council’s initiative to try and help relieve some of the chargepoint anxst denting the demand for electric cars.

The county council plans to install 1000 electric vehicle charging points over the next three years.

About 30 locations across the county are proposed for the first phase of the roll-out and letters have been sent to residents living close to the sites for feedback.

Something like one third of residential properties in Gloucestershire have no off-street parking for charging an EV at home.

And many businesses are unaware that government grants, potentially worth thousands of pounds, are still available for firms wanting to install chargepoints.

This is the message from one of our Business West Gloucestershire members, Richard Jones who runs jec electrical.

He tells me there are a number of grant schemes but one that is most helpful to SMEs is the Staff and Fleet Car Park scheme.

Grants of up to £15 000 with a maximum of five grants are available. So, if a company has five sites these grants could be worth up to £75 000.

This is good advice worth pursuing as these grants end in March next year.

The county council are on the ball with their chargepoint plans.

We have to remember that 2030, when sale of new petrol and diesel cars will end, is now less than seven years away.

Scary.