Vauxhall launch initiative to boost the roll-out of residential on-street EV charging

A freedom of information request made by Vauxhall has revealed that seven out of ten local authorities have no EV charging strategy in place for the residential on-street charging of EVs. 

40% of homes in the UK do not have a driveway or garage in which to charge cars, leaving a significant proportion of the public with a sizeable barrier to EV adoption.  

The FOI request, which elicited 289 responses from the 414 UK councils and local authorities who were approached, also revealed that 69% of them have yet to install any on-street chargers and 45% confirmed they had no plans to install residential on-street chargers this year.

In response to these findings Vauxhall – who, from next year will offer an electric version of every car and van in their portfolio and who have pledged to go electric-only in the UK by 2028 – has set up the ‘Electric Streets of Britain’ programme to make sure those homes without driveways are not left behind in the transition to zero emission motoring.

The new national database at www.electricstreets.co.uk exists for the public to register their needs, enabling councils to have a better understanding of where demand really lies for on-street charging for both existing and potential EV drivers.

Working with charging operators char.gy, Connected Kerb and SureCharge, Vauxhall has set up an ‘Enablement Fund’ to help councils understand the scale of on-street charging issues, and the solutions available, ahead of the Government’s planned ban on the sale of new ICE cars in 2030.

The importance of on-street charging is evidenced by the fact that 80% of all EV charging is done at home and the percentage of homes without off-street parking rises to 60% in urban areas. Vauxhall cite solutions such lamp post chargers, which can be installed and working within as little as 30 minutes, and pavement-mounted bollards.

James Taylor, Managing Director, Vauxhall, comments: ‘Accessibility to charge points near your home is critical to the transition to electric vehicle ownership in the UK. We want to galvanise the needs and interests of everyone, from the public, to the councils and the charging operators to make sure that anyone without a driveway is part of that journey.

‘We want to help educate and inform the decision-makers, and enable the installation of more chargers, more quickly.’

On-street charging provision will help residents without off-street parking to conveniently charge their EVs, but the benefits extend beyond private motorists. An estimated four in 10 company owned electric vans are charged at home by employees, so the widespread availability of charge points will support businesses to go electric by helping van drivers to top up both at home and, as destination chargers, when they are attending residential jobs.