The Government’s decision not to adopt the recommendations in a House of Lords report to incentivise EV buyers could mean the EV revolution is “a non-starter”, according to the report’s author.

The upper chamber’s Environment and Climate Change Committee published a report earlier this year, titled ‘EV strategy: rapid recharge needed’, in which it called for incentives to encourage car buyers to go electric.

But the Government’s response was to dismissing the House of Lords’ suggestion that it should re-introduce the plug-in car grant (PiCG).

And it rejected the suggestion to equalise the VAT differential on public charging, maintaining the current rate of 20% compared to the 5% rate for domestic chargers.

Baroness Parminter, chair of the inquiry said: “It is particularly disappointing that [the government] is not committing to incentivising the purchase of more EVs, equalising the VAT differential between public and domestic charging, or addressing concerns about barriers to charging in multi-occupancy buildings.”

She continued: “If implemented, these recommendations would help people to adopt EVs and ensure a smoother journey towards net zero. Peers will keep urging the government to do more, as otherwise the EV revolution is a non-starter.”

In the report, Baroness Parminter wrote: “The evidence we received shows the government must do more to get people to adopt EVs. If it fails to heed our recommendations, the UK won’t reap the significant benefits of better air quality and will lag in the slow lane for tackling climate change.”

Instead, the government maintained that the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate alone would drive EV uptake. This mandates that 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain must be zero-emission vehicles by 2030, with a further push towards 100% by 2035.

The decision has drawn criticism from the auto industry. Fiat UK managing director Damien Dally said the government was “sleepwalking” into an electric vehicle crisis, adding: “With confirmation that no electric car grant is going to be reintroduced, we would say the government is now well and truly on the cusp of that crisis,” he added. With fewer than one in five cars registered this year being EVs, the market is in “real jeopardy”, he added.

Mazda UK managing director Jeremy Thompson said: “We need to change the narrative around EVs, from range to usage and encourage home charging installation, better public charging infrastructure as well as government incentives that consider cost throughout the ownership cycle.”

Jon Lawes, managing director of fleet operator Novuna Vehicle Solutions, said: “After sluggish EV adoption in March and a year of mixed messages on net zero, the Government had a chance to reset the narrative.”

“Instead, it was a missed opportunity. Policymakers have shied away from the fundamental issue of boosting consumer accessibility. This was a chance to get the EV transition back on track with a package of measures, but purchase grants, a VAT cut on public charging and support for the second-hand market were all ruled out.”

The Government ruled out the VAT change on the grounds that it would “impose additional pressure on the public finances to which VAT makes a significant contribution”.

The PiCG grant was launched in 2011, initially offering £5,000 off the price of EVs and plug-in hybrids. It was steadily downgraded to just £1,500 and was axed completely in 2022. The report said bringing the PiCG back would stimulate the “affordable EV market” and should be in place until price parity between EVs and ICE cars was achieved.