£65m government boost to grow on-street charging network
Connected Kerb receives significant funding in hopes of boosting EV uptake...
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that the UK government will pledge £65m to EV charging company Connected Kerb to support its ambitions to roll out 40,000 on-street sockets across the country, up from the 9,000 already built.
The investment combines £55m from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and £10m from insurance company Aviva, and will aim to contribute towards the government’s requirement of at least 300,000 public EV chargers by 2030.
“This is a game-changing investment that will give individuals and businesses the confidence to make the switch to driving electric, dramatically reducing carbon emissions and air pollution,” said Connected Kerb CEO Chris Pateman-Jones. “We are delighted to have such high profile investors who deeply aligned with our sustainability and ethical goals.”
These hopes to boost electric car uptake come after sales failed to meet expectations in 2024, despite hitting record highs. In fact, according to SMMT data, EV growth came almost entirely from company car fleets and businesses, and only one in ten private buyers chose an EV when purchasing their new car.
In its report, the SMMT called on the government to take further action to ensure that the UK has a “reliable, affordable and comprehensive nationwide network of infrastructure” so that targets regarding electrification can be met.
While improving accessibility to public charging is a positive step forward, more needs to be done to achieve wider adoption of electric cars. In December, What Car? published its EV manifesto citing nine challenges which must be addressed to aid the transition to electric vehicles – many at little or no cost to taxpayers.
Additionally, recent What Car? research found that many providers have done very little to comply with the Public Charge Point Regulations set out by the previous Conservative government.
For example, under these regulations, providers should publish reliability data for their rapid chargers each calendar year, but we found that only five of the 17 networks we looked at regularly do so. It’s also specified that there should be one single payment app for all EV chargers across the country – but that doesn’t exist either.
