UK in "chicken or egg" dilemma over EVs, says firm

Instavolt, a provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, calls for making EV charging accessible to everyone rather than merely installing home chargers. This is the message of Instavolt in celebration of the United Kingdom's (UK) first -ever National Clean Air Day.

Around 30 per cent of UK households don’t have off-street parking so that means that more than eight million potential buyers are unlikely to buy an electric vehicle unless it’s easier to charge in public places,” said Tim Payne, CEO of InstaVolt, in a company release

However, companies that install EV chargers wanted to make sure that there's a thriving market for electric vehicles.

“We’re caught in a chicken and egg situation where people simply won’t buy an electric vehicle until the infrastructure is there. At the same time, companies are hesitant to install charging units until they know there’s a buoyant market to use them," said Payne.

He added that the lack of access to EV chargers plus"range anxiety", which means fear of not being able to charge up, is a "recipe for failure"

The company recommended that the public and private sector work together to make UK road more EV-friendly. Installing rapid chargers in "service stations, petrol forecourts, and shopping centres across the country" will encourage the public buy Evs.

Last month, Instavolt signed a deal with the Silicon valley EV infrastructure company Chargepoint to purchase more than 200 rapid chargers. It also plans to install 3000 rapid chargers across the UK by 2020.