Lack of EV chargepoints leaves SMEs stuck in the slow lane

A postcode lottery in car charge points could hamper the Government’s levelling up agenda, new research suggests, as regional infrastructure shortages slow down SMEs’ ability to switch to electric fleets.

Some 720,000 electric vehicles (EVs) are now on UK roads, around 60 per cent of which are company registered. However, a wide geographical disparity in publicly available chargers could prevent SMEs from making the switch, potentially missing out on significant savings, according to analysis by insurer Zurich UK.

Zurich mapped the number of publicly available EV chargepoints (1) across the UK against the small business population (2) and found, on average, there is just one public chargepoint available for every 56 small businesses.

Small businesses in Greater Manchester (3) have access to the fewest electric vehicle chargepoints, with 237 firms competing for every publicly available socket. This is followed by Essex (203 firms per charger) and Surrey (169 per charger).

The analysis also revealed vast regional disparities, with 111 SMEs in Northern Ireland vying for each public chargepoint available. The North West averages 70 SMEs per charger, while the East of England averages 67 firms per charger.

Zurich is calling on the Government to address the disparities as part of its levelling up agenda and to ensure a level playing field for organisations wanting to go electric. Will Edwards, Zurich’s head of SME, said: “SMEs have a huge and vital role to play in helping the UK reach the Government’s net zero carbon emissions target by 2050.”

“We need to see a levelling up of public charging infrastructure, so all businesses, irrespective of where they are located, can benefit from the EV revolution and also meet sustainability targets.”

Positively, some progress is being made and the number of public charging points grew 31 per cent in the year to July 2022. The number of sockets installed in UK workplaces via the Government’s Workplace Charging Scheme also saw a 60 per cent jump during the last financial year (April 21-Mar 22), with over 10,000 new sockets installed in workplaces across the UK(4).

There are more electric vehicles on UK roads than ever before (5), with an estimated 720,053 cars that can be plugged in. Around 58.8 per cent of these are company registered. To help businesses embrace the EV revolution, Zurich UK recently enhanced its SME motor policy by adding new cover and wording to its small fleet policy for firms with between two and 20 vehicles.

Will Edwards continues: “We are committed to supporting SMEs as they respond to the electric vehicle revolution and make their day-to-day operations more sustainable. This includes enhancing our SME motor policy to futureproof cover for customers and meet the evolving needs of modern fleets.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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