The East Midlands is one of the UK’s leading regions for at-home electric car charging grants, according to figures from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles.
The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme’s (EVHS) uptake in the East-Midlands is 746 grants per 100,000 homes in the year to 1 July, up from 546 per 100,000 homes in April. Some 12,400 devices have now been installed, an increase of 1,700 from April.
The East-Midlands is now second only to the South-East from 12 regions across the UK in terms of take-up.
The EVHS provides 75% of the cost of installing electric vehicle devices at domestic properties.
Across the country, over 44,700 grants for home charging devices were made in the last 12 months, worth nearly £15.75m and representing over a quarter of the value of grants made since EVHS started.
The installation of public charging devices under the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) has also gathered pace. Of the 1,459 public charging devices installed since the scheme started in 2017, 778 devices were installed in the last three months – up to 1 July – across 49 councils. A further 88 councils have been awarded grant funding to provide 3,282 charge points under the ORCS.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in November last year that wholly powered petrol and diesel cars will no longer be sold in the UK from 2030 as part of the ‘green industrial revolution’ to tackle climate change. Johnson says the government plans to ‘invest more than £2.8 billion in electric vehicles, lacing the land with charging points’.
Greg Wilson, Quotezone.co.uk’s Founder comments: “It’s encouraging to see such progress in the East Midlands, even in a few short months, with further approval for home charging grants and more on-street chargepoints being planned in the region and across the country. Easy access to recharging points is integral to meeting the government’s ambitious targets for electric vehicle use before the 2030 deadline.
“However, research suggests that an investment of £16.7bn is needed, across the UK, on the public charging infrastructure alone – so there is much work to be done.
“As electric cars become more mainstream and a growing number of insurance providers enter the electric car insurance market, we expect the average cost of insuring electric cars to fall steadily – both for consumers who are keen to invest in a more environmentally friendly motor for their family, and for businesses who decide to invest in a more sustainable ‘green fleet’.”
Recommended by 97% of reviewers, Quotezone.co.uk helps around 3 million users every year compare prices on insurance and personal finance options, with over 400 brands across over 60 different products, including bespoke items such as electric car insurance and electric bicycle insurance.
