“Range anxiety” and the race towards electrification
The Competition Regulator is due to conduct research into drivers’ “range anxiety” to establish whether the electric vehicle (EV) charging sector is meeting consumer needs.
The news comes after a couple from Kent took nine hours to complete a 130-mile journey home from Bournemouth because of charging issues.
Hours added to electric journeys
After the recharge light popped on, the couple pulled into the first filling station en route. Only thing is, there was a queue for the electric chargepoint. So they continued to the next station, only to find that the charger there is out of order.
This pattern continued until they finally filled up on electricity at the sixth filling station they visited. What should have been a three-hour journey ended up taking nine hours.
The Kent couple are a perfect example of a relatively new phenomenon called “range anxiety”; the fear of not being able to find an electric chargepoint.
And they’re not alone. Studies indicate that range anxiety is one of the key concerns preventing drivers from making the switch to electric vehicles.
More chargepoints needed
There are currently just under 20,000 EV chargepoints in the UK; an increase of more than 18,000 since 2011. But range anxiety stories like our Kent couple’s suggest that infrastructure must improve before the 2030 ban on new internal combustion engined cars.
CEO of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Andrea Coscelli said, “Being able to easily stop off at a petrol station is a standard part of a journey and consumers must trust that electric chargepoints will provide a similarly straight-forward service.”
In other words, we need to get to a situation where we can take EV filling for granted; just like we do with petrol and diesel.
Which is why the CMA will work to develop a more competitive sector; to ensure the best possible service from chargepoints and build trust with UK drivers.
Perhaps they’ll look to the Isle of Man for inspiration.
Isle of Man leading the race towards electric
While stories like the Kent couple’s indicate that there’s a need for more charging options across the UK, the Isle of Man is already replacing its entire fleet of chargepoints.
The entire island is switching to a “pay as you go” app so that charging can be done more efficiently and safely post-pandemic.
The small island has already smashed the EU’s target of one public chargepoint per 10 electric vehicles, with plans to have at least 300 altogether established within five years.
What do you think?
While the rest of the UK brings up the rear, the CMA will continue its market study over the next year so that recommendations can be made to Government for furthering EV charging infrastructure.
If you’d like to get involved in the study and share your thoughts about where British infrastructure needs to develop, click here to visit the gov.uk page.
And we’d love to hear your opinions too! Send an email to [email protected] to tell us where you are in the race towards electric and whether range anxiety is affecting any decisions you’re due to make.
