SEVADIS
CAPITALISING ON THE EV MARKET Successful businesses are built on recognising – and capitalising on – market opportunity. It’s about the right products, in the right place, and at the right time. Here, Mark Smith, Operations Director at Sevadis, one of the UK’s fastest growing suppliers of electric vehicle charging products, highlights the opportunity that rapid growth in this market presents to contractors of all sizes.
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lthough initial take up of EV technology was relatively slow, in 2021, annual registrations exceeded 300,000 and there are now nearly 750,000 EVs on UK roads. This growth is due to a number of factors. Car manufacturers recognised the market need and potential. They are continuing to add to their ranges with a wider variety of electric vehicles at more affordable price points. The efficiency, performance and range of these vehicles is improving all the time and at a rapid rate. Finally, the Government’s decision to bring forward the ban on petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040 to 2030 has also helped to contribute to the growth of the EV market.
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EV Charging
Although electric vehicle sales are on the upward trajectory, many people do have a degree of hesitancy caused by range anxiety. Firstly: ‘Is there sufficient charge in the battery to get me from A to B?’ and secondly: ‘How easy will it be to find a charging point?’
The Government’s infrastructure pledge The Government responded in 2019 with the unveiling of a £1.3 billion EV charging infrastructure commitment. This was followed with a £20 million funding scheme designed to support EV innovation. Then, in November last year it was announced that legislation will be
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introduced, requiring EV charging points to be installed on all new buildings with parking spaces, including offices, shops and residential properties. Despite this investment, as of the beginning of March 2022, there were just under 30,000 EV chargers in the UK. Currently only one new charger is being installed for every 52 new electric vehicles registered. According to the government’s independent statutory advisor, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), new installations will have to surpass that number every year if the country is to have the estimated 280,000 charge points that will be required by 2030. On 25 March 2022, the Government announced its long awaited EV Infrastructure Strategy with a pledge to increase the UK’s EV charge points 10-fold, improve the consumer’s experience of charge points and support those without off-street parking. This strategy reinforces the Government aim to provide a robust charging network in the UK. It has committed a £500m investment in high quality, competitively priced public charge points. This is made up of £450m for a Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund for local authorities to help expand charge points in their area, with the remaining £50m to be used to fund staff to work on local challenges and planning for public charge points. Each local council will be able to bid for a share of £10m under the LEVI. This latest announcement is welcome news indeed and presents a wealth of opportunity for electrical contractors. A huge number of EV charging points will need to be supplied and installed over the coming decades. The question then becomes – what’s the right product?
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31/03/2022 14:22
