Top story today is a biggie… I have obtained private letters from carmakers to the UK government that reveal their true ZEV mandate intentions, including:

• Ford, Nissan, BMW and Toyota lobbying to allow new fully internal combustion vehicles to remain on sale after 2035

• Stellantis blaming Labour’s “welcome” approach to China for an “intolerable” impact on its sales

• And the trade body group SMMT threatening job losses and deindustrialisation without an urgent trajectory review.

The exclusive correspondence and my analysis are below. If you use or share these letters, please do link to this newsletter.

Elsewhere… Burnham’s first few days, Moto Charge bolsters Exeter Services, and remember to thank Rachel Reeves.

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

Revealed: Major carmakers ask ministers to allow sales of combustion engines after 2035

Summary: Carmakers have been heavily lobbying for a review of the ZEV mandate, alongside other demands to shore up their businesses, including calls to keep combustion engines on sale beyond 2035, according to newly obtained correspondence published today by The Fast Charge Newsletter.

And no… The carmakers don’t mean plug-in hybrids. They don’t even mean mild hybrids, which still use a small battery. As you will see in the correspondence, they mean allowing full combustion-powered vehicles that are “efficient” or utilise ‘sustainable’ materials or fuel to stay on sale after the date when, under current rules, only new electric cars will be able to be bought.

As I’m sure everyone will agree, however ‘free range’ you make an engine… it is still an engine burning fuel. The demand was made by Ford, Nissan, BMW, Toyota and the parts maker, Bosch, in April this year. It is the most brazen ask I’ve seen from the UK automotive industry about the EV transition. It would effectively end the 2035 ban on petrol and diesel cars.

Elsewhere in the letter… the group explained they represented 30,000 jobs in the UK, and more in the supply chain. Alongside their demand for an ‘Open Technology Approach at 2035’, which they indicated would follow the EU’s recent change in approach, the group also called for bringing forward a review of the ZEV mandate to adjust the trajectory, despite the flexibilities and grants already made available.

I obtained this letter from the Department for Transport. However, interestingly, the letter itself was sent to the three Secretaries of State for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales – this suggests it was forwarded onto DfT. The letter’s date is also intriguing: 10 April 2026. This is just a month after the SMMT Electrified event where carmakers made public their demands for a faster ZEV mandate review.

Has there been a Whitehall pincer movement?

It could be so… As in a separate letter I’ve obtained from Mike Hawes, the CEO of the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders, to the EV Minister Keir Mather MP after the event, which the latter spoke at, Hawes thanks Mather for joining but notes: “I recognise you were not in a position to respond positively to the industry’s request for an earlier review of the ZEV Mandate and the wider transition, but your commitment to continue to work with us was welcome.”

As a reminder… at the time of the conference, it was quite clear that DfT were content with the mandate’s progress and did not commit to an earlier review. Instead, they advised that a review was already baked into the existing arrangements for 2027. And they also published analysis on the day claiming carmakers had met the mandate during its first year.

So… Having failed to get a positive result by going head-on, have SMMT and its members gone ‘around the back’ to pressure others on the mandate instead? We already know that Unite the Union was put to work lobbying Starmer, and dealers like Vertu have been hitting up MPs, so I wonder if the lobbying was taken even wider across Whitehall to make the point too.

There’s evidence to suggest this. In a second letter to the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander MP, on 12 June, one day after Unite’s public call on the mandate, Hawes wrote asking for an urgent review of the ZEV trajectories, including making serious claims on what will happen without action in this calendar year. In one line, Hawes suggests that having no review would “likely determine the future of the UK as an automotive manufacturing hub.” He adds, “I do not make that claim lightly, but it is the reality.” This letter was copied to five ministers, including the Business Secretary and Chancellor, as well as Varun Chandra, Downing Street’s Chief Business, Investment and Trade Advisor.

Clearly… The lobbyists have been at work. We won’t understand the true scale until the next set of transparency documents are released. Though we already know from the recent batch – covering January to March – that carmakers have been throttling up meetings with officials and ministers. (See that previous article below).

Naturally… Since coming to power this week, Burnham has since replaced much of the Cabinet, including appointing a new Chancellor (John Healey MP) and Business Secretary (Jonathan Reynolds MP, who previously had the role before the outgoing Peter Kyle). It’s known that Hawes and Reynolds previously had a good relationship before the latter was demoted. One might imagine meetings between the two are already in motion. Heidi Alexander MP has remained as the Transport Secretary, and the previous Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh MP, is now effectively Burnham’s deputy in the Cabinet Office.

China as the fall guy

It has not just been Nissan, Ford, BMW and Toyota lobbying for more change; Stellantis has been at it as well. And, based on a letter I’ve obtained from them to Peter Kyle and Heidi Alexander in late April, their tone is certainly the most aggressive I’ve seen before.

Written by Eurig Druce, UK Group Managing Director for Stellantis UK… The carmaker blames its “intolerable” commercial position not just on the existing ZEV policy, but also on Chinese imports to the UK.

In an extremely spicy accusation… Druce writes the impact of the legislation on Stellantis has been “exacerbated by the Government’s position to welcome likely heavily subsidised Chinese products into the UK.”

Later in the letter… Druce appears to ask that mild hybrids be considered the same as plug-in hybrids and cites analysis from the NGO Transport & Environment. The letter ends with Druce claiming manufacturers like Stellantis are “the backbone of the UK industry having delivered economic growth and inward investment for decades.”

Much like the other letters… This one was copied to ministers and other departments, including the Downing Street business team and DESNZ.

Conclusion

Nobody wants to see job losses. Nobody wants to see less investment in the UK. But where do you draw the line? When does a business’s profitability overtake the health and energy security of a nation? Yes, these car marques have been here for a long time, though they are not the only car brands in the UK now.

These letters reveal what we’ve always known: many carmakers do not want the status quo to change. And it pains me to write it, but I cannot envisage a scenario where Andy Burnham doesn’t keep supporting them. Though, I suppose at least then he’ll have something in common with carmakers: neither will have a real mandate.

📬 Here are all the letters I obtained via Freedom of Information requests

12 January – Lisa Brankin, Chair of Ford UK, raises concerns about the ZEV mandate and van sales to the Transport and Business Secretaries. [Link]

13 March – Mike Hawes, CEO of SMMT, thanks Keir Mather MP for attending the Electrified conference and asks for further talks on the mandate. [Link]

10 April – Senior executives at BMW, Bosch, Ford, Nissan and Toyota set out their four demands, including calling for internal combustion to be allowed after 2035. [Link]

21 April – Eurig Druce, the UK Group Managing Director of Stellantis UK, writes to Peter Kyle and Heidi Alexander to raise “significant concerns” about the ZEV mandate legislation, alongside blaming “subsidised” Chinese imports. [Link]

12 June – Mike Hawes, CEO of SMMT, calls on the Transport Secretary to have an urgent review of the ZEV mandate, saying “the cost of doing EV business is costing jobs, profitability and, most worrying, has created a significant risk to UK investment.” [Link]

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Latest EV news…

👉 Andy Burnham is now Prime Minister. As written above, many Cabinet Ministers have been reshuffled. As of yet, I have not heard or seen anything to suggest that the EV Minister, Keir Mather, will move. He was a supporter of Burnham, and campaigned for him in Makerfield, so maybe he’s hoping for a promotion. We’ll have to wait.

👓 Speaking of Burnham… If you haven’t read my write-up of his family links into the EV sector, you can find that here.

🤨 Sticking with the new PM… One of his first acts has been to take VAT on domestic electricity from 5% to 0%. A small help for households, though especially so for people with driveways and electric cars. However, by doing this, Burnham has actually made the price gap between those without driveways even bigger. As Vicky Edmonds, Chief Executive Officer of EVA England, says: “The transition cannot be fair while people pay substantially more simply because they cannot charge at home.” Read more.

☀️ Last week I was thrilled to join The Summer Celebration hosted by the 49 Collective, the campaign group supporting women across the EV sector. It’s not even six months old, yet the event was packed. If you haven’t checked them out yet, please do. Or why not consider signing their Charter. See the website here.

😯 A new report by Clean Cities UK has suggested London will need 98,000 EV chargers by 2035. That’s up from the estimated 27,700 at the moment. Read more.

⚡️ Speaking of chargers, West Northamptonshire has chosen Char.gy to install 3,000 chargers under the LEVI scheme. Read more.

💷 Shell has launched a ‘Summer Midday Saver’ where drivers with the app charging between 12-3pm can charge up on one of their rapid chargers for only 60p per kWh. Take a look here.

🔌 Moto Charge, the charging network set up by the motorway service provider Moto, has installed 100 ultra-rapid charging bays at Exeter. It’s great for people travelling down to Cornwall for Summer, as these chargers are at a site which already has 32 Tesla and 44 Gridserve rapid chargers. However… One thing that does stand out with these chargers is the location. They are nearer to the building entrance than the other networks, and presumably that is deliberate – why would drivers want a longer walk? Then again, at 89p per kWh, I think I’d choose the walk. Read more.

👏 After a 20 year stint, Jonathan Murray has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the Zemo Partnership. Read more.

📈 EV sales are up across Europe by 57% compared to this time last year, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. See here.

😅 Finally, a story in Autocar highlights how the Fiat 500e is now one of the cheapest EVs to buy at £17,245 due to getting the Electric Car Grant. A nice story. However, what made me laugh is that the article has zero references to the recently departed Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, because why would there be? Yet, when you search for the article on Google, the headline is “The Fiat 500e just became one of the UK’s cheapest cars – and you can thank Rachel Reeves”… is this a statement or a demand? Anyway, cheers, Rachel!

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Five years and six months ago, I wrote my first edition of The Fast Charge. We were barely a year out of the pandemic, and it was only two months on from COP26, where the UK Government announced a ban on internal combustion engines from 2030.

I was 25, fresh out of Whitehall, had zero knowledge of electric cars, and no formal journalistic credentials. But I didn’t let that stop me from launching this publication.

Since then, I have posted 280 weekly editions, consisting of around 4,000 stories about Britain’s EV transition.

In my first post, I set myself a question… Why should people sign up? I wrote that I hoped this newsletter would be informative, light, and informal, as I really hated – and still do dislike – “serious writing”. The best praise I’ve ever had is when a reader described The Fast Charge as Private Eye for electricians.

Most importantly, though, I wanted this publication to act as a critical friend. To celebrate the EV sector at its best, but to hold it to account when it falls short.

Whether you have been signed up for years, months, or weeks, I hope you feel I’ve achieved this. With this in mind, I wanted to let you know about a pretty big change to the newsletter.

From mid-August, I will no longer be publishing weekly.

Why, Tom?

There are a multitude of reasons. The main one is that I have been offered an exciting role while a friend goes on maternity leave. And, on reflection, I’m not sure I’ll be able to offer you the standard I’d expect if I tried to keep it weekly.

As such, I’ve decided I’m going to take the pressure off and instead plan to focus this publication on longer features and investigations. Which I’m sure are the bits that many of you enjoy the most anyway.

And, for anyone concerned, this decision is not related to my health. Which is superb.

What does this mean practically?

The newsletter will continue, though I cannot commit to any sort of regularity after mid-August.

As such, if you are currently a paid member, I will begin the process of cancelling all monthly subscriptions after sending this email.

For those who have annual plans, refunds will be provided pro-rated to the month you last paid up to mid-August. This may take some time on my end to work through, so please do bear with me as I deal with my finance team (aka, moi).

After August, new posts will be free for everyone, though there will still be a way for people to support my work if they wish to.

Final note…

There are still a few more weekly editions for you to enjoy, so it’s business as usual for now. Though, as I’ll certainly say again in August, I’ve really appreciated the thousands of you who have subscribed and supported this newsletter to date.

I trust you’ve enjoyed reading it each week as much as I have enjoyed writing it. And I hope you stay signed up, as there is much work still to do.

If you have questions about anything above, you can reach me here. Or simply reply to this email!

Best wishes,

Tom Riley ⚡️ Editor of The Fast Charge Newsletter

Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Top story in today’s email… It’s confirmed, eVED is coming to EV drivers in April 2028. I take a look at the consultation outcome and areas where questions remain.

Elsewhere… Nissan’s are popular, petrol is being discounted, and could the EU be about to cut VAT on EVs (and will the UK follow)?

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

Pay-per-mile and the holes that remain

Summary: During last year’s Budget, the Chancellor announced that she would introduce a new vehicle excise duty scheme for owners of EVs and PHEVs. In short, the Treasury’s proposals were based on a mileage tax, with EV owners being charged 3p per mile, and PHEV owners being charged 1.5p. For a typical EV owner doing 7,000 miles a year (which is what the average UK driver does), it’ll cost £210.

In the months since November… The UK Government, spearheaded by HM Treasury alongside the Department for Transport, has been consulting on its proposals for how the scheme should be run. In total, more than 5,000 people responded to the Treasury about its plans and, on Monday, the outcome was published.

It’s not clear what the sentiment of all the responses was… Though one would imagine it was fairly negative. The eVED introduction has faced criticism from all corners for its poor timing. Toby Poston, BVRLA chief executive, has labelled it the “wrong tax at the wrong time.” Ben Nelmes, CEO of New AutoMotive, has called the scheme “absurd”, Tanya Sinclair from EVUK has suggested the policy is sending mixed messages to consumers, and Vicky Edmonds of EVA England said it was “disappointing for drivers”.

Obviously… I don’t believe anyone thinks EVs should get a free pass forever. But the timing is not great. HMT has confirmed April 2028 as the date eVED will come into force, which is well ahead of the current 2030 ban on internal combustion vehicles. As a reminder, even the OBR argued after the last Budget that the proposed scheme would reduce sales by 440,000. The OBR later clarified that this should be offset by 320,000 due to other incentives available for EV sales.

However… Unlike today, back in November, there was no debate about changing the ZEV mandate, which is a significant sales lever on carmakers. Should Andy Burnham, when he becomes Prime Minister in a week, stick with Starmer’s decision to lower the trajectories, surely this figure will sink?

Furthermore… On page 13 of the government’s eVED response, there is a footnote that refers to the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook from the last Budget about expected EV sales to 2030. Clearly, then, it looks like HMT has gone ahead publishing this eVED scheme based entirely on how the rules are set today, rather than waiting to see how the ZEV mandate plays out. That feels like bad economics. It’s like raising income tax on someone just moments before you tell them they have a terminal disease. Totally illogical… unless you need to guarantee the income.

Read more

Top story in today’s email… The Transport Secretary failed to declare five meetings with carmakers about the ZEV mandate, as OEMs racked up more than thirty discussions with officials and ministers during January to March.

Elsewhere… MG makes a copy of the Renault 5, EV sales soar, and Grimsby’s council planners choose to keep it grim.

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

Carmakers dominate meetings with the Department for Transport

Summary: Carmakers met with senior officials and ministers 31 times between January and March 2026 to discuss EV policy, according to an analysis of recently released transparency documents from the Department for Transport.

By comparison… There were only two meetings where DfT met with bodies representing drivers, and only two with those representing EV charging.

As the chart below shows… Carmakers dominated meetings with officials at the start of this year, with Ford alone getting six sessions, including one with the Transport Secretary. During this quarter, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders hosted its Electrified conference. At that event, SMMT, alongside its members, called for a review of the ZEV mandate. This was despite DfT publishing an analysis on the same day showing that the mandate had been met during 2024.

👉 There are a few interesting outtakes from these new documents, so here’s my top three…

1) Transport Secretary failed to declare meetings with carmakers

Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, attended five meetings with carmakers in late March. One meeting is understood to have been with Jaguar Land Rover on 25 March, while four others were with Ford, Nissan, Stellantis, and SMMT on 31 March.

However… none of these meetings have been declared in her transparency log. Under the Ministerial Code, ministers are required to disclose external meetings. I was only able to figure out she attended by analysing a long list of meetings attended by senior DfT officials over the same period, which includes short notes against several entries mentioning the Secretary of State.

On Tuesday… I approached DfT about this, and a spokesperson confirmed that Alexander did attend the meetings and claimed the omission from the record was an ‘administrative oversight’ which would be corrected on GOV.UK. Two days have now passed since that response, but the public page remains uncorrected. Until it’s updated, one assumes the Transport Secretary is in breach of the Ministerial Code? More importantly, though, how did these clearly critical meetings not get included in the first instance?

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2) Did Toyota lean on the business department?

According to the filings, Toyota attended four meetings with DfT between January and March. All of them were focused on the ZEV mandate, and one in March – after the SMMT event – was attended by the EV Minister, Keir Mather.

Here’s what’s interesting… I checked the transparency documents for the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), covering the same period, and I found Toyota also had a meeting with David Bickerton about the ZEV mandate in January. Bickerton is the Chief Strategic Business Adviser at DBT, and according to his submitted notes, the meeting was a “Discussion on ZEV Mandate issues in relation to Toyota.”

Most notes typically do not provide this level of colour. The meeting happened only one day after Toyota had a joint discussion with DfT alongside BMW, Ford, and Bosch about the mandate. And it was only four days since Toyota had a one-to-one with Richard Bruce, the co-head of the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles.

So why did Toyota meet with Bickerton? Why did they need to raise issues with a senior official at DBT about a policy that sits outside its remit? Is Toyota concerned about UK jobs and investment, as it has threatened to pull in response to previous ZEV mandate consultations? Hopefully, we’ll know soon. I have submitted a request for the meeting notes.

3) Vertu Motors got to meet the minister

Readers may recall my post a couple of weeks ago titled ‘Who Killed the ZEV mandate’. Within that story, I revealed that the car dealer Vertu Motors had been running a highly active campaign through its network to lobby MPs and Ministers.

It seems the campaign worked. As in late March, Minister Mather declared a 1-2-1 meeting with the company, which presumably was with Vertu’s boss, Robert Forrester, to discuss the EV transition and government support for the automotive sector. On the same day (25 March), Caroline Low, the other co-head of OZEV, also had a meeting with Vertu. I assume it was the same one that Mather attended.

Meanwhile… Groups representing real drivers barely get a look-in. According to the documents, EVA England has not had a 1-2-1 with senior officials or ministers. I find it quite disturbing that the department responsible for introducing the greatest change to drivers in a century is never engaging with them.

I put this to DfT, and they defended their engagement approach by saying:

“Manufacturers play a key role in the EV transition, so it is crucial to engage with them alongside a wide range of stakeholders including chargepoint operators, consumer organisations, and environmental groups. Our most recent consultation received 605 responses from industry and the public, all of which were taken into account when shaping the ZEV Mandate.”

*FYI, that consultation was over a year ago.

Clearly… I am not alone in believing the EV driver is missing out. A new report by consumer group Which? published this week has also called for a driver-centric approach. It is critical as the transition goes from one that mostly serves driveway owners to one that will see a great mix of driver types. Read their report here.

Quick EV news…

📈 EV sales are continuing to soar. In June, registrations of EVs made up 30% of all registrations. That’s 64,000 cars and clearly demonstrates high demand. Read more. Even electric van sales were up by 23.2% last month. Albeit, van electrification still has some way to go. Read more.

☎️ Speaking of fleets, Openreach has partnered with the charging network Source to help power its 7,000 EVs. Read more.

🚙 Bentley’s first electric car is going to be an SUV called the Torcal. The name derives from a famous Spanish limestone rock, which hopefully isn’t a suggestion that it’ll erode. According to Autocar, the name also links to the word ‘torque’. Read more.

🚗 Today, MG has launched a new concept EV called ‘GO!’. The hatchback will be launched in 2027. The carmaker has said the design is a nod to the MGB GT. However, I think it’s plain to see that this is the ‘Temu’ Renault 5.

⚡️ Two bits of Ionity news. Firstly, in a survey of British drivers it commissioned, the charging network found 94% of EV owners plan to take at least one long-distance journey this summer, with one in five planning to venture beyond the UK. Read here. Secondly, Ionity is offering drivers a 5kWh credit this Summer if they stop their charge at 80%. It’s called the ‘Fast Lane Reward’ and is part of moving EVs through their hubs quickly during peak hours. Read more. I wonder if other CPOs will follow.

☹️󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Going from high utilisation to very low… An EV charger in Scotland operated by Connekt has apparently only been used once in six months, earning just £1.46 for the Oakbank Community Inn, which got it installed. Read more.

🔌 The Guardian reports that EV charging deployment has been slowing down. According to data from Zapmap, only 5,100 chargers have been added so far this year, which is only a 10% increase compared to last year. In 2024, the growth was 40%. The thought is that networks are increasingly focused on ultra-rapid chargers, which continue to see high growth. Likewise, we are still only just seeing LEVI projects in lots of areas get going, so one assumes the number will jump up again soon. Read more.

🤨 Speaking of installing chargers, local planners in Grimsby have refused permission to tear down a building near the town centre to make way for a 20 bay EV hub. The reason given is that it would mean the “loss of a non-designated heritage asset considered to be of local significance and value”. I have copied an image of said building below. Are they blind or stupid? Or both?

🔋 A Wall Street Journal story went viral this week and was featured as a top story on LinkedIn. Its title… EV Batteries Are Defying Expectations After Hundreds of Thousands of Miles. The story begins with a feature on a British used EV dealer. Great stuff! Read here (paywall).

💷 An interesting story on the BBC today about insuring EVs. It very much chimes with what I often hear, which is that if an EV is only involved in the tiniest of tiny scrapes, it can result in a write-off. Which is mad. Read more.

♿️ Finally… To demonstrate how unsuited Europe’s EV charging network is for disabled people, the group Disabled Motoring UK conducted a road trip from Britain to Spain. They covered 3,000 miles and stopped to recharge 24 times. The conclusion was that no charging network was fully catering to accessibility needs. Read more.

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Top stories in today’s free email…

Firstly… After going unused for three years, I can reveal that the UK’s first electric fire engine has now responded to more than 700 incidents. This is a ‘blazing success’ for the electrification of emergency service vehicles.

Secondly… Shell launches a new battery fluid to flatten EV charging curves and allow batteries to fill up faster.

Elsewhere… SMMT’s latest call for a ZEV mandate review (and my idea to meet them in the middle), Polestar is blocked from US sales, and lots of fresh consultations.

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

Exclusive: UK’s first electric fire engine attends more than 700 incidents 🚒

Would there be anything more terrifying than being in a house fire? The thought that you might burn alive or suffocate, glued into your clothes, holding onto a loved one or, even worse, being alone as all your worldly possessions turn to ash. I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. But, for a woman living in Fulham earlier this year, these thoughts must have felt very real.

The house where she lived was on Greyhound Road, a popular place for young professionals and families. It was made up of multiple flats, including one in a basement. And on a Wednesday evening in January at around 5.30pm, due to a fault on a consumer unit, the house set alight.

While four people, including a baby, were able to escape the house before emergency services arrived, she remained inside, trapped.

After firefighters reached the scene, fitted with breathing apparatus, they entered the blaze and were able to rescue her on a staircase. At the scene, she was treated by London Ambulance Service crews for smoke inhalation.

Overall, the fire was attended by six fire engines and more than 40 firefighters. Thankfully, just over an hour after the first 999 call was made, the blaze was under control.

*Exclusive*… The Fast Charge Newsletter can reveal that the above incident is just one of more than 700 incidents that Britain’s first electric fire engine, known as the ZEPA1, has attended since October 2025.

To save you the maths… that means the EV fire truck, part of the London Fire Brigade’s fleet, has been called out to tackle emergencies more than twice a day since being put into active service. This is an incredible feat for a fire engine that had previously been sitting, as I reported in early 2025, unused for three years while being tested.

As background… ZEPA stands for Zero Emission Capable Pumping Appliance. Like any other fire engine, it comes with a 1,750 litre water capacity and can also carry 100 litres of foam.

The truck is based in Hammersmith… The station is fitted with a dedicated 150kW EV charger to recharge the huge 280kWh battery. The emergency vehicle is fitted with both a DC and an AC port for charging. While it has a 200 mile range, if you’re being really technical, it is most accurate to say this truck is a plug-in hybrid, as it does have an engine as a backup. Although having recently witnessed the ZEPA1 in Chiswick returning from an incident, I can personally report that it was silent.

Commenting on the engine’s success… London’s Deputy Mayor for the Fire Service, Jules Pipe CBE, said:

“London Fire Brigade is taking bold action to reduce carbon emissions, introducing the UK’s first electric-hybrid fire engine and creating a more sustainable future, all whilst keeping Londoners safe around the clock.

“The climate emergency is putting extra pressure on our fire service so it’s imperative we do what we can to reduce emissions. This next-generation fire engine proves we can combine cutting-edge performance with lower emissions, building a cleaner, greener, and safer London for everyone.”

To mark its first year in service… I understand that the London Fire Brigade is planning a public update in September. By that point, one imagines it will have easily completed well over a thousand jobs.

🔥 I am marking the success of the fire engine with a ‘fire’ sale. For £8 a month - aka, a pint in 2026 Britain - you can support my writing. And maybe you can even expense it!

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Shell flattens charging curves with new solution 🚗

Context: One of the biggest challenges of EVs is that, when most people plug in their cars at an ultra-rapid charger, though it may say on the outside ‘175kW’, the reality is that it’s a bit of a white lie. This is because, even if you own an EV that is capable of accepting a charge at that speed, the reality is that it may only be for about a minute.

Let’s take the popular BYD Atto 2 as an example. It has a battery size of 64kWh, and it can accept a max charge of 155kW. So, if you turned up at a charger with 175kW of power, you might easily assume that, once you plug in, you’ll benefit from that max power all the time. But you won’t. As the chart below shows, you’d only ever get near that level for mere moments. After that, the power accepted by the car’s battery slowly decreases. Every EV’s curve is different, but they exist to manage the heat and protect the battery cells.

However… Shell’s R&D team has come up with a solution that could allow EVs to charge at higher speeds, for longer.

Launching officially last week… Shell’s solution is, well, exactly that. Unlike traditional cooling systems that use an anti-freeze liquid, Shell has created a new fluid that allows for far better cooling of a battery and other EV components.

To prove the point… Shell has developed a concept car which can be charged consistently at 175kW from 10% to 80% without the speed slowing. The car Shell designed has a smaller battery than most typical EVs – the battery is only 32kWh. But it can be charged in under 10 minutes because of the better thermal management.

This comes after BYD recently launched its 1,500kW flash chargers in the UK. While a hugely significant media moment, Shell believes its technology could be a lot more practical, given that there are few EVs on the road that can accept speeds above 300kW. Likewise, given grid capacity, most currently available ultra-rapid chargers in the UK sit around the 150kW to 300kW mark.

Shell’s development has come about from its ‘Triple 10’ challenge. The outcome of which could hopefully open up a new frontier for developing small urban EVs that have better ranges, are less hassle to recharge, and come with less carbon emission baggage. It will hopefully end up meaning fewer drivers will default to a large SUV just to guarantee a higher range and better charging speed.

Obviously… Launching a concept car is quite easy. How will an oil company get this into car factories? Well, to answer that one, I asked Shell’s Selda Gunsel, who is the group’s Chief Technology Officer. “Our purpose was really to demonstrate what is possible. And this really helps us in our conversations with OEMs.” She explained that Shell already had relationships “with most of them,” but did acknowledge “as a technologist, it takes a long time for a new technology to go from the lab or demo phase to actual commercialisation.”

During our conversation… I did get a strong sense of confidence that the tech would work its way through to carmakers in the UK and abroad. At several points, Selda mentioned Shell’s work with BYD. Furthermore, when I asked why they launched in the UK and not anywhere else, Selda praised “the research and development that goes into the automotive industry and motor sports. I mean, the UK has an incredible heritage here, with the universities, with the different partners.” Well, let’s hope it comes to fruition!

Find out more about Shell’s Triple 10 Challenge and the concept car here.

Latest EV news…

📈 Yesterday, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders repeated their call for a ZEV mandate review. Their latest push came alongside a new survey of members, which found 73.8% think the UK is significantly behind the trajectory to 2030. In SMMT’s poll, manufacturers made up less than a third of those surveyed (31.3%). Most respondents were in retail (37.5%). What was most intriguing in the poll was what measures SMMT’s members believed would solve their concerns… The top three were ‘Recharging Infrastructure’, ‘New grants for customers’, and ‘Amendments to existing grants’… I’m by no means an economist, but how does a mandate change address these three? Find the survey here, and their latest report here.

Riley’s mandate solution… Over recent weeks, I have been talking to a lot of you about the trajectories. And one idea I have been throwing out to people is that, perhaps if the ZEV mandate gets reduced, in its place should be a charge point mandate. Yes… that policy idea thought up by manufacturers and, on the face of it, utterly non-sensical. Why then? Well, given the concern by many is that lower trajectories will affect investment across the EV sector, could a charge point mandate act like a government guarantee? In my mind, it would be akin to situations where, historically, government has effectively insured loans and investment by UK businesses. For example, last year when the UK guaranteed £1.5 billion for Jaguar Land Rover. Why can’t something similar be done for EV infrastructure? Ruddy hell, maybe I am an economist.

🍎 Do you remember the Apple Car project? Don’t worry if you don’t; it died a death quite a while ago. But the project's designer is very much alive. And, this week, he launched his own EV called Amble. It’s effectively a golf buggy. It does look very cool, though not sure how practical it will be in the UK, though I understand its target is likely resorts.

😕 VW has revealed plans to cut 100,000 jobs and stop production at some factories. Read more.

⛔️ Polestar has been banned from selling vehicles in the US because it’s a national security risk, due to the software and hardware having links back to China. Polestar is owned by Geely, which also owns Volvo… which is still allowed to sell cars in the US. Read more.

🚙 I hate how people change their names so they are more ‘on brand’. For example, RJ Scaringe, the Founder of Rivian… What’s wrong with just going by Robert? Anyway, a bit of a tangent. But if you want to read an interview in The Guardian with Mr RJ Scaringe about Rivian and his views on car making, you can find it here.

😐 Talking of names, one of Britain’s most famous, Jaguar Land Rover, is apparently going to price its much-delayed all-electric Range Rover above its petrol counterparts. According to Automotive News, JLR believes a six-figure price will prevent it from being drawn into price wars. There’s logic in that somewhere. Read more.

🧐 Ferrari’s marketing boss has quit weeks after the launch of the Luce, the supercar maker’s first-ever EV. That’s certainly not amore. Read more.

🛠️ An analysis of 40,000 repairs by AX, a fleet management firm, has found that the average repair cost for an EV following a non-fault crash is £6,363, which is roughly a fifth more than the typical £5,338 cost to fix an ICE vehicle. Read more.

🏆 The EV charging network Zest has now installed 3,000 chargers in the UK, having only launched four years ago. A rapid achievement! Read more.

👉 Gridserve has opened a new 32 bay hub at Tamworth Services. The hub includes 8 bays designed for e-HGVs, e-buses, and… electric caravans. Read more.

👍 According to analysis by ChargeUK, nine in 10 rapid chargers installed over the past two years are located outside of London – countering the narrative that EV chargers are all solely being put in across the capital. Read more.

⚡️ InstaVolt has acquired 260 rapid chargers from GeniePoint. This will mean InstaVolt has 4,250 chargers across 1,200 locations in the UK. The GeniePoint sites will be upgraded and rebranded over the next 12 months. Read more.

💷 MFG EV Power has reduced its prices from 79p to 59p per kWh until 30 September. See here.

🚓 Cable theft is still rife across the UK. Most recently, four sites in Devon have been hit. Read more.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 The Welsh-based Plug Charging has acquired the business Energy Park, which will mean the company has a stronger presence in North Wales. Read more. Elsewhere in Wales, residents in Powys can respond to the design of the area’s EV strategy here.

🔌 Leeds Skelton Lake services have received 10 additional 400kW Ionity chargers, taking the total up to 16. Woof. Read more. Talking of Yorkshire, all those living in East Riding are encouraged to submit their views to an EV charging consultation.

📮 Last but certainly not least… DfT has launched a consultation on the introduction of a strategic charging infrastructure scheme. A sort of skinny version of the Rapid Charging Fund. You have until 28 July to respond. During that time, I am planning to write about MSAs. So ensure you both get your views into DfT, and perhaps also to me! See here.

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Top story today… I share the latest on the ZEV mandate, what might happen when Burnham becomes Prime Minister, and reveal his family links to several EV businesses.

Elsewhere… Used EVs are flying off the forecourts, battery swapping is being adopted for trucks, and Guide Dogs are being trained for quiet cars.

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

Handbrake applied to ZEV mandate review following Starmer resignation

Summary: Just over a week ago, the UK Government briefed journalists that it was going to slash the ZEV mandate trajectories in the face of opposition. While it was welcomed by manufacturers and the vocal trade union Unite, it took the wind out of the EV industry’s sails, who will yet again have to deal with the impact of lower confidence from investors and drivers.

However… Despite all the briefings behind-the-scenes in Westminster, nothing was ever published about it. I asked the Department for Transport on Friday when people could expect to see a consultation on GOV.UK. I was told it was a live issue and was instead pointed to comments made by the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander MP, to the Transport Select Committee last week.

In a session with MPs, Heidi stated… “there is no suggestion that the 2030 or the 2035 dates will change.” However, later she confirmed bringing forward the planned ZEV mandate review, which was due in 2027, and instead getting it “completed in the next six months.” Heidi also confirmed the trajectories would be looked at, based on feedback from carmakers about how achievable they would be. She also told the Committee she’d already set out to her department the work required in the next six months, which would look at “that relative balance between the sales of pure EVs and hybrids.”

But… That was last week. And a week is a long time in politics.

Now that Starmer has resigned, leaving the door of No10 open for Andy Burnham to take on the leadership, where does that leave this consultation?

Normally… before an election, Whitehall is thrust into something called ‘purdah’ which restricts announcements that could influence said election. Whereas, when a party leader resigns – in this case, Starmer – the rules are not quite the same. There are no formal restrictions on government activity to stop.

However… what you often find is that neither ministers nor officials will move on decisions until a new leader is chosen. This seems to be the case at DfT. Their public comment on the ZEV mandate remains the same as the one from last week, which is very non-committal. Behind-the-scenes, officials are wary of providing answers on what’s going on.

Up in the air? In the Sunday Times last weekend, it became clear that Starmer’s decision to review the mandate was due to pressure from Sharon Graham, secretary of the trade union Unite, who has since been out in the press pleading for Burnham to stick with the decision. “Skills and jobs are gone for ever at the stroke of a pen. That was never the ZEV mandate’s intention. As a northwest politician, Andy understands the importance of the automotive sector to our economy and jobs.”

Sharon’s intervention… so soon after celebrating victory, suggests to me she has no guarantee Burnham will stick by Starmer’s decision.

Furthermore… Today, the government’s own Climate Change Committee has called on Whitehall “to stand firm behind the ZEV mandate and remove barriers to EV adoption.” The Chair of the CCC, Nigel Topping, commented, “The U-turns are really damaging to inward investor confidence. If we really want to grow the economy, then investing and getting good at building stuff is essential.” It follows countless letters to No10 from green groups and businesses.

And then… Mike Hawes, CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, has come out swinging against the CCC. Mike commented today, “The CCC has no responsibility for employment or economic growth, government does and it cannot ignore the negative effect this market subsidisation is having on production, jobs and future investment.”

Again… Like Sharon, the fierce statement by Mike only confirms nobody knows what’s going on. Given that the earliest Burnham could be installed is 17 July, I think it’s safe to assume the mandate review has been parked up on the slip road with the hazards on.

Who will Burnham listen to on EVs when he’s PM?

His colleagues? It is very hard to tell who will have his ear on EV policy, though it does seem likely that Louise Haigh, the former transport secretary, and Jonathan Reynolds may be back in charge of departments. Media briefings suggest that Reynolds may return to Business and Trade. Meanwhile, Haigh, who was largely indifferent to personal transport, may end up elsewhere, leaving Heidi Alexander to continue in her post. Should this occur, I don’t think it’ll be good news for the mandate. Reynolds had a very close relationship with Mike Hawes of SMMT, and Alexander has already kick-started work.

However… It is likely Miliband will remain in a senior government role. And he is undoubtedly a strong advocate for clean energy and decarbonisation. It’s unknown whether he will head to the Treasury as Chancellor, as many Ministers and businesses have argued against this, though I’m sure he’ll likely be a close confidante of Burnham whatever happens. So, there could be a full battle of ideas on climate change.

As readers may recall in May… I wrote a short review of Burnham and what his accession might mean for the EV sector. I noted in that piece that many of his national policy objectives were unknown. And I think that is largely still the case.

However… I have continued to dig, and I have found that Burnham may be much closer to the EV sector than I first thought.

Introducing Marie-France van Heel (Andy’s EV wife)

Marie-France first met Andy Burnham at Cambridge University. Known as ‘Frankie’ to friends, today she is the Chief Customer Officer at Be.EV. The charging network that was founded in Manchester, backed by Octopus Energy, and is growing nationally, having only recently acquired Mer. In a recent submission to Parliament, Be.EV warned of the risks from “weakening the ZEV mandate”, declaring that, “we, along with our industry peers, urge Government to maintain the ZEV mandate without dilution”. As a member of the board since 2024, one assumes this position reflects her own.

And here’s a link you won’t get from Tatler… I’m told Marie-France’s best friend at Cambridge was none other than Ade Thomas, whose Green.TV media business collapsed last year owing taxpayers £550,000, alongside numerous allegations that he treated staff members poorly. Readers may recall that in May, I revealed that the appointed liquidator was taking action against Ade over that insolvency. At the time, Ade told me he was in conversations with them to resolve issues.

I understand Ade and Marie-France remain close. So much so that she and Andy’s son, Jimmy Burnham, spent almost a year working for Green.TV between 2021 and 2022, working as the company’s Policy and Communications Executive.

During that same period… while Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham took part in a ‘Decarbonisation Summit’ which was run by Green.TV with SSE. In a video after the session, Burnham thanks Green.TV for pulling the event together.

None of this is to suggest anything improper. I mention it to illustrate that the Burnhams are clearly a lot more linked into the EV transition than I realised. And surely this can only be positive for those in the industry. At least, one hopes that if anyone in the country is going to have Burnham’s ear on the ZEV mandate, it might be his family.

Latest EV news…

🚘 Used EVs are the fastest-selling segment on Autotrader, with vehicles aged 3-5 years old selling in just 21 days. Way ahead of petrol at 29 days and diesel at 33. Read more.

🇯🇵 Nissan has canned its development of the fully electric Qashqai in Sunderland, as part of wider cost-cutting at the Japanese carmaker. Nissan recently revealed it had signed a memorandum with the Chinese carmaker Chery to build its EVs in the North East. Read more.

⚡️ Gridserve has published its annual report for 2025, writing that as a result of “disciplined execution”*, the operator has delivered 45% year-on-year growth in network revenue, which, according to their financial update, hit £64m in 2025. See their LinkedIn post here. *interesting wording given the job cuts!

🤜 InstaVolt has called on the government to provide a timetable for rolling out EV signage on main roads. See here.

✈️ You can now earn Avios points by using BP Pulse EV chargers. Read more.

⚽️ Throughout the World Cup, Greene and King pubs fitted with ultra-rapid chargers run by RAW will benefit from 50p charging. Read more.

🔌 Surrey County Council has partnered with Kerbo Charge to help residents install charging gullies. Surrey, which claimed grant money, is subsidising the cost from £1,000 to £499. Read more.

💳 The roaming card company Allstar has launched a new network specifically to support trucks and vans, which combine public and semi-private chargers. Read more.

🚛 Talking of commercial EVs, Octopus Energy has partnered with the huge battery maker, CATL, to introduce Swaptopus. As the name suggests, the two companies will introduce battery swapping in Europe… but for electric HGVs, not cars. They are planning to have 30 ‘mega hubs’ by 2035. Read more.

🚗 And from big to small… A nice feature on the growing ‘small’ EV segment coming to the UK, following in the success of the Renault 5. Read here. I’m very much a fan of these small EVs. When I was in Florence recently, everyone seemed to have a Citroen Ami or Fiat Topolino.

📈 According to BNEF, Bloomberg’s research team, EVs will account for 27% of global new car registrations in 2026. Read more.

🙅 Talking of surging EVs, most of them are clearly coming from China. However, the boss of Xpeng has said the competition of Chinese brands in Europe will not lead to a fight over price. Read more.

🦮 Finally, I leave you with news that Guide Dog puppies, which are trained to support those with limited or no sight, are being trained to recognise EVs – which are typically quieter than their ICE sisters. Read more.

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

I think we all know what the top story is this week… To quote Malcom Tucker in The Thick of It… “Our f**k-lustrious PM has opened Pandora’s f**king Box, and curled a massive steamer right into it!”

Elsewhere… Autotrader data reveals a gender gap, Fastned opens the first of 25 London charging hubs, and BYD goes on a United States naughty list.

Before we get to that, a quick note on my story last week about Octopus Electric Vehicles raising new cash and lobbying. Since publishing, Octopus Energy has told me it does meet the Ofgem capital requirements. I am always happy to correct the record. And, as such, I have also lifted the story’s paywall. Read it here:

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn. I am at MOVE today – so drop me an email if you are around!

Who stabbed Caesar the ZEV mandate?

Summary: There has been great upset across the EV industry this week as the Sunday Times revealed the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate is set to be watered down. Based on the reports, it’s thought that soon the government will launch a fresh consultation on the deadline and associated trajectories. It’s expected to mean that, rather than 80% of sales being fully electric by 2030, it may be cut to as low as 50%. Despite my headline, the mandate won’t be entirely killed, as the other 50% of cars will have to be hybrid. Read more.

The briefings to the press have been branded a ‘blatant lie’ by EV leaders. This is because nearly all coverage has suggested new EV registrations are nowhere near the 33% required under the ZEV mandate projections this year. However, as pointed out by Osprey Charging’s CEO, Ian Johnston, on LinkedIn, due to the existing flexibilities that carmakers have, the real mandate is only around 24.6%, based on analysis by New AutoMotive. In the year-to-date, the EV registration rate sits at around 23.7% - and that’s with half a year left to go.

Why make this change? Ministers and MPs have been under sustained pressure from carmakers about softening the mandate for months. Only in March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders published their own analysis suggesting there was a big gap between the government's ambition and consumer reality. At the time, I wrote how SMMT were clearly capitalising on unstable politics. It’s perhaps no surprise that, on the week which could split apart Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, Downing Street has seemingly blinked.

But SMMT has not been alone in conspiring against Caesar the Mandate… Compared to previous times the policy has come up over the past year; this time, the trade union Unite has been especially vocal. Last Thursday, Unite called on the government to reduce the percentages of the ZEV mandate, labelling the targets as ‘ridiculous’.

Interestingly… Unite has close ties to Andy Burnham, who could be making a challenge for the Labour leadership should he win the Makerfield by-election this week. Likewise, Burnham’s “political lead” is the MP Anneliese Midgley. She previously worked as the political director at Unite.

Following The Sunday Times story… Unite published a statement branding the mooted changes as “a huge victory”. I contacted Unite about this and asked if they had anything to say to the 12,000 workers already working in the EV sector who, as a result of Unite’s demands for ZEV mandate changes, may now be fearful of losing their jobs. In response, a Unite spokesperson avoided addressing the EV job risks, instead telling The Fast Charge:

“Unite supports a just transition, however the ZEV mandate was unjust and flawed and put thousands of workers’ jobs at risk. Should the expected changes to the ZEV mandate go through, this will allow for a fairer, more thought through transition where electric cars will still be made and workers will be employed to make them and maintain the infrastructure they require, while also avoiding large scale job losses across the sector.”

It’s a strange world when a trade union does the dirty work of multinational businesses. But there is one other suspect in the line-up…

There has been a sustained campaign from car dealers too. The main driving force, I understand, has been Vertu Motors chief executive Robert Forrester, who welcomed the review and has written repeatedly to ministers about it. His campaign was run by Darlington-based agency Recognition PR, whose founder Graham Robb this week boasted of supporting Forrester and others to persuade the government of the merits of staying in line with the rest of the developed world. Having spoken to Recognition PR, I understand they helped Forrester’s campaign, including creating a briefing for use by Vertu dealers to write to dozens of MPs about taking action.

Et tu, Miliband? In normal times, one suspects the Prime Minister would not have buckled under this pressure, due to the closeness of the relationship he had with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. However, that’s understood not to exist anymore, since the latter is known to be supporting Burnham in a leadership challenge. The Times reports today that Miliband is now actually ‘ghosting’ the PM, which underlines how dire the relationship has become.

Clearly… this potent combination of carmaker lobbying, trade union criticism, and a leadership challenge has caused Starmer’s team to blink.

A popular change may help the PM in the short term… But based on the strength of response I’ve seen, I’m unsure how forgiving EV leaders and investors will be in the long-term. One imagines this change in approach will not just impact Labour’s EV credibility, but its whole clean energy mission, which was core to its manifesto. And for it to happen as British consumers have been seeking out more affordable ways to lower their living costs - such as via EV ownership - it certainly seems shortsighted.

But was the death of the mandate inevitable?

While it’s a tragedy to see Labour create this instability… Everyone in the sector that I have spoken to, over the past six months, is highly aware that a change was coming down the tracks before 2030 anyway. Not only is there an existing ZEV mandate review baked into the existing law. But boardrooms also are unable to ignore that Reform UK is still polling high. And, so far, the party has been successfully translating its popularity into seats (locally at least). Given that one of their national policies is to remove the ZEV mandate entirely, all businesses should be operating on the assumption it could eventually change – either by Reform itself or by a Labour Party trying to shore up its votes.

The question for right now is this… As an industry, do you accept there will be changes and try to shape the ZEV mandate to be Reform-proof? Or do you fight these mooted changes before a consultation even starts?

I do not envy the situation EV businesses have been put in. Both options are bleak and tiresome. The only insight I’d remind people of is that what is coming through from these changes is that politics is clearly, across left and right, shifting back to pleasing that mythical ‘red wall’ voter of 2019. These voters do not like being told what to do, how to think, or how to act.

For climate-related businesses, they are a conundrum. They are households most likely to dislike net zero, yet also the ones most likely to benefit from the energy transition through lower running costs. One idea I’ve heard discussed quite a bit at events lately is whether it’s time for EVs to be separated out from the wider net zero agenda. We always wanted them to one day just be ‘cars’. Maybe that narrative tweak needs to start now?

FYI, my current understanding is a fresh ZEV mandate consultation will be forthcoming this Summer.

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Latest EV news…

🔋 Agratas, the Tata Group company building a gigafactory in Somerset, has announced it’s parted ways with its previous builders in a “mutual agreement”. Agratas has said it needs a “different construction delivery model to support the next phase” and to ensure it remains on track for opening in 2027. Read more.

🇨🇳 Over the pond… the US Government has recently added BYD to its list of companies that it believes work with the Chinese military. Read more. Will China retaliate against Tesla?

👀 Research by Autotrader has found 17% of women believe their lack of knowledge about EVs is stopping them from buying one. It’s only 8% for men. Read more (paywall).

🏆 Talking of Autotrader, last week the company named the Renault 5 ‘Car of the Year’ as part of a survey with 160,000 drivers. I was at the ceremony where Tesla seemed to scoop more awards than any other brand - it seems their drivers still love them. Read more.

👋 Changes have been underway at the operator Fuuse, with founder Michael Gibson stepping back and Roger Hunter, formerly of the Shell e-mobility parish, stepping in as the new CEO. Read more.

⚡️ Last week, I was pleased to attend the launch of Fastned and TfL’s first joint EV charging hub at Hatton Cross near Heathrow. This hub is the first of 25 planned across London. And if the other 24 are like the one I saw, Londoners are in for a treat. Read more. TikTok video to follow.

🔌 The EV charging network Urban Fox has won a LEVI contract with Hertfordshire County Council to install 1,200 EV chargers. Read more.

👍 It has been reported that Enfield Council is going to accelerate the installation of 1,000 Char.gy lamppost chargers. Read more.

📞 A UK start-up called Enera, which uses AI to monitor calls to EV charging networks and offers an agent service that can solve queries, has just raised $2m. Looks pretty neat. Read more.

🏛️ The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) – what a mouthful(!) – has called on the government to get local authorities to deliver consistent EV charging through national direction. Read more.

✌️ I leave you with hope as… Staffordshire County Council has this week launched a survey asking residents if they’d like an EV charging gully which can “ease cost of living pressures and ensure people have the best transport option available to them for employment, leisure or independent living.” That quote is from a Reform UK councillor at a Reform UK led authority.

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Top story in the newsletter this week… I can reveal that Octopus Energy’s EV arm is seeking to raise several hundred million in fresh debt funding, as a document obtained by The Fast Charge reveals the UK’s largest energy supplier lobbied ministers to cover losses on its EV fleet.

Elsewhere… The government excludes VAT from its charging price review, flash charging comes to Britain, and EVA England publishes a fresh paper highlighting how the EV transition is at risk of becoming two-tier.

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn. If you are attending MOVE next week, drop me a note – let’s get a coffee.

🐙 Octopus Electric Vehicles has a £111m hole - here’s how it’s trying to plug it

Summary: The EV leasing business that sits under Octopus Energy is lining up to raise hundreds of millions in new debt funding, The Fast Charge has learned. This comes despite the company having raised £2 billion since its founding in 2018, with £500 million of that only being secured in November 2025.

According to its latest accounts… Octopus Electric Vehicles (OEV) ended 2025 with a net liability position of £111 million. This is an increase from £76 million in the previous year. Auditors at Deloitte only signed off on OEV’s accounts because of a letter of support from its parent, Octopus Energy Group. Without this support, the business would be unable to continue operating.

While continuing to operate at a loss… A source with knowledge of the current dealmaking has told The Fast Charge that the new money will go towards continued expansion. This was confirmed with another source close to Octopus, who added the company had no shortage of interest from financers and that investors remain very happy. The expectation is that OEV wants to capitalise on the increased interest in EVs, where new registrations are at record highs in the face of rising fuel prices.

I contacted Octopus about this story, including the debt funding, and they declined to comment on the record.

Let’s take a step back from the above… While sales are soaring today, they have not always been. And as a first mover, OEV is known to have had significant exposure in previous years to, in its own words, an “unprecedented decline” in EV residual values.

These words come from a consultation response written by OEV and obtained by The Fast Charge. The document is from early 2025, when the UK government sought views on amending the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate. In OEV’s submission to ministers, over the course of two pages, the leasing firm set out an idea for taxpayers to share in the losses on each leased car due to the “heightened volatility” of residual values. Octopus argued this would be akin to a “contract for difference“ model “rather than just a subsidy.”

Here’s a snapshot from OEV’s document that explains how the proposed scheme would work:

Octopus argues that their scheme would be good for taxpayers. Sources at Octopus have told me this idea was not unique to them, and that several other leasing firms made similar asks. Octopus believes its scheme could enable them to significantly lower prices for consumers, as a state-backed guarantee would provide the leasing industry confidence to expand. Octopus has said it believes the scheme would be net neutral or even positive for the public. I also understand that a private sector solution is being explored alongside asking for government support.

For now, the idea has not been adopted by the UK government. However, elsewhere, Octopus has taken several steps behind-the-scenes to shore up its balance sheet.

Finance structuring…

In 2023, OEV set up an ‘orphan company’ called Everdure No.1 Limited – a business registered to an office in Canary Wharf, which has more than 2,000 other active companies also linked to it.

Everdure No.1 was set up to raise debt against OEV’s lease portfolio by selling lease contracts to investors, such as banks, in exchange for loans. By April 2025, OEV had used Everdure to draw down approximately £278 million in this way. £236 million of this money came from Lloyds Bank. According to Companies House, OEV could use Everdure to draw down up to £660 million.

The use of orphan companies is common among businesses trading with assets, as the set-up can shield a parent company from any bankruptcy liability should a subsidiary go insolvent. Readers may recall that last year I wrote about Tesla taking this approach.

In the case of OEV, because they have chosen to retain the economic upside of its vehicles, OEV and its parent Octopus Energy remain tied to any profits or losses relating to Everdure.

Alongside the set-up of Everdure, The Fast Charge understands that several financial firms have been approached by OEV’s team to seek help on creating a fresh model for how the company manages its residual values. It is not known if OEV managed to succeed at this. Although there is evidence that the market has improved. Analysis by Cox Automotive in November 2025 suggested the average EV depreciation sits at 38-42% after three years versus 35-40% for petrol vehicles.

In more recent months, as the company has been exploring a new raise, the company has been recruiting for several senior Capital Market roles, including a lead deal principal, who “will be responsible for helping source, structure, and execute the key funding lines for Octopus Electric Vehicles’ substantial and rapidly growing fleet of electric vehicles.”

Consumer incentives…

On the ground with customers, OEV has also taken steps to prevent bringing losses back onto its balance sheet. This has included offering customers extended lease contracts and re-leasing returned vehicles.

These practices are not unique to OEV, and it is known that several other firms with residual value exposure are doing this. But OEV has gone further to boost its incentives. Namely, Octopus has now brought its own home charger to market, and many of OEV’s listed deals offer it for free. And for existing energy customers who take up a lease, OEV offers 8,000 miles of free home charging through its tariff.

For those without driveways, those leasing through OEV can get 50% off charging with Ubitricity and Connected Kerb. Alternatively, they can claim credit for Octopus’ roaming app, Electroverse. For new cars, you get £800, or £400 for used EVs.

Wider group activity…

OEV is ultimately owned by the Octopus Energy Group. In its latest accounts, the Group announced a pre-tax loss of £254.8 million across its whole operation. Octopus Energy acknowledged in 2025 that it had not yet met Ofgem’s capital adequacy rules, though the company subsequently confirmed it had done so in January 2026.

Soon, it is expected that the group will spin out its proprietary software, Kraken, which is currently valued at £6.4 billion.

The challenges facing OEV and its parent are distinct. But Octopus Energy Group has committed to supporting OEV financially – meaning the group’s own balance sheet is not insulated from its subsidiary’s losses. Or vice versa.

*This article has been updated to reflect that Octopus Energy now meets the Ofgem capital requirements.

Latest EV news…

🚘 EVA England has published a new whitepaper highlighting how the EV transition is at risk of becoming two-tier. It is essential reading, full of new data and solid recommendations. Read ‘Putting the Driver First’ here.

🧐 Yesterday, the Department for Transport published the government’s Cost of Charging Review terms of reference. It’s chaired by Phil New, an executive with a lot of experience in the EV transition. Critically, though, the review will not consider tax changes, so that means we should not expect a recommendation on VAT or eVED. This has displeased campaigners, such as EVA England. It will report in Autumn, around Budget time. See it here.

⚡️ Also yesterday, I was pleased to attend the launch of BYD’s Flash Charging in the UK. These are chargers which can power an EV from 10% to 70% in five minutes, and to full in nine minutes. BYD plans to roll out 300 in the UK this year, and they can avoid grid challenges by relying on huge batteries. Clearly, at the moment, only the soon-to-be-launched Denza Z9GT will be able to benefit from those speeds, though it will end up being other models. Additionally, the chargers will be open to other cars. Read more.

💸 A new report from ChargeUK with LCP Delta has found that EV charging growth will provide the foundation for a £385 billion UK economic contribution, establish 35,700 jobs directly, whilst enabling 334,000 additional jobs across the EV sector. That’s as long as the ZEV mandate remains unchanged. Ministers Keir Mather and Katie White attended the report’s launch, which is hopefully a positive indicator that the upcoming review will be more of a tick-box exercise. Read here.

🔌 Speaking of charge point rollouts, there’s been a flurry of news over the past week. Zapgo has a new site in Newcastle. Hampshire County Council has plans for 17,000 with Believ. And Telford has launched 126 (also with Believ). Elsewhere, all of Aldi’s 1,200 EV chargers are now being run by Drax.

📈 Last week, new industry data revealed EV registrations continue to surge in the UK. According to New AutoMotive, during May EVs reached a 27% market share. Read more.

📝 A new report by the International Energy Agency on EV running costs, which includes a UK comparison to other countries. Apparently, on average EVs are still £9,700 ($13,000) more than ICE here. Find it here. That gap seems a bit bigger than other reports I’ve read.

🤑 In more positive news, data from Zapmap and Autotrader shows that the annual savings from running an EV now stands at £980 on average. Read more.

🇪🇺 SMMT has called on the UK and EU to revisit the implementation of ‘rule of origin’ tariffs due to come in at the start of next year. The warning is that, without carmakers having enough time to update their supply chains, there will be an unnecessary 10% increase in vehicle prices. Read more.

🏭 I’m a bit late to this, but great to see Chery finally jump into the UK through a tie-up with Nissan. They certainly teased us for long enough. It also puts a renewed question mark on the Coventry gigafactory site. Read more. Or see my previous write-up about Coventry’s empty site here.

💷 Slightly odd story about Northern Ireland politicians and civil servants having to reimburse their use of free chargers located at Stormont (Northern Ireland’s Parliament). The initial story focussed on politicians who also received travel expenses. Read more.

💃 Finally, Heaven & Hell, a former Hull nightclub where La Toya Jackson (MJ’s sister) performed on its opening night in 1990, is due to be turned into an EV charging hub. One of La Toya’s top songs was ‘Starting Over’. Read more.

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Top story in the newsletter this week… Since the introduction of new rules to make using public chargers easier, my analysis finds pre-authorisation fees for paying by card have risen by nearly a third (31%).

Elsewhere… A short review of what Andy Burnham as PM may mean for motorists, DfT covers its back on VAT, and MPs call on ministers to review the ZEV mandate.

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

For info, there will be no edition next week, as I’ll be six Chiantis deep in Tuscany. On my return, I’ll likely be at London Tech Week, MOVE, and London Concours. Please reach out if you want to link up.

Pre-authorisation fees now average £40 per tap

Headline: The amount of money that charge point operators take when a driver uses contactless on their networks has risen on average by £10 since 2023, based on an analysis of nine major UK networks.

As of today… the average amount locked away from drivers whenever they tap their bank card is £40. That’s based on a separate review of 31 individual charging networks operating in Britain. While the amounts taken by charging networks are temporary, they can be held for anywhere from days to multiple weeks.

For a driver relying on public charging once a week… That means at any one time in a normal month, £160 could be sitting in limbo, tied up in pending transactions across multiple sessions before earlier holds have been released.

And that’s just the average… In many instances, the pre-authorisation fees charged by networks are eye-watering. As one example, Lidl, the ‘discount’ supermarket which operates a network of 1,388 chargers for its customers, charges £80 to its contactless users. Across 31 networks, seven of them have pre-authorisation fees either at or above £50.

When I last reported on pre-authorisation fees in 2023… I reviewed nine charging networks and found the average amount being held was £32, and the highest amount in the list was £50. When conducting a review of those same nine this week, the average amount has jumped by £10 to £42 on average. An increase of nearly a third (31%). Furthermore, whereas previously two networks (Gridserve and Ionity) offered a simple £1 reservation, now these are £10 and £40 respectively.

Why the rise? There is a multitude of explanations as to why pre-authorisation fees are so high. Some argue that it has followed the rise in charge point pricing, hence the risk from non-payment has also grown. However, others suggest that it’s a way of nudging people to sign up directly with networks and their apps. For example, to avoid Lidl’s £80 fee, according to its website, simply downloading the ‘Lidl Plus’ app to charge, you only face a £40 pre-authorisation fee, which also gets returned within days, as opposed to “up to 4 weeks” for using contactless.

Sticking with Lidl specifically… I contacted the supermarket yesterday about their fees, as on the website it lists £85 as the pre-authorisation fee. Initally they argued it was £40 for all, whether using contactless or their app. However, since publishing, I’ve been told it is £80 if you pay by card. The website remains inaccurate.

Steering away from the middle aisle now… Pre-authorisation fees make no sense to drivers. According to a submission to the Transport Select Committee by the network Fuuse, 40% of their helpline calls are about pre-authorisation fees. In online forums, there are regular posts by drivers perplexed by them, especially as if there’s a problem with a charger; the fees can quickly multiply. In my early days, I had £130+ frozen for weeks by one operator after the charger failed to work properly.

A few years ago… Drivers of fuel cars were in uproar as ‘pay-at-pump’ pre-authorisation fees jumped from £1 to nearly £120. Much like with EV charging today, this money could take days or weeks to return. However, nowadays, the return for most is closer to instant. In any event, fuel drivers can always pay at the counter. EV owners cannot.

In my opinion… While the Public Charge Point Regulations have done an excellent job in getting networks to offer contactless payments, the Government should now take it further and sort out the mess which is pre-authorisation fees. At present, it feels like the wild west, and I know that EV executives are equally as frustrated – many suggest it’s the banks and card processors that need to make changes.

It needs to happen soon… We are seeing a huge surge in EV registrations as people are increasingly persuaded by the cost benefit. However, while the regulations give drivers the right to pay by contactless, it says nothing about how much could be taken before the charging even starts.

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What if Andy Burnham becomes PM? How will it impact the EV sector?

I’ve been doing some digging, but to be entirely honest, his positions are all over the shop at the moment. He seems to change his views with each passing day. He is clearly desperate to take his populist position nationally. And my instinct is… that’s not good for the EV industry.

At a high level, all Westminster squabbling does is hold up Whitehall and scare investors. And at a micro-level, should Burnham succeed in becoming PM, he has a history of caving to criticism, which worries me.

For example, he pushed strongly for a Clean Air Zone in Manchester before cancelling it after facing a backlash. The reversal reportedly cost taxpayers over £100 million due to the installation of ANPR cameras. The carmaker LEVC (owned by Geely), who make the famous electric black cabs, was furious about this and publicly criticised Burnham. A few months later, lo and behold, Burnham buttered them back up with an £8m pot specifically to help taxi drivers buy their vehicles.

Fair play to LEVC, but where was Burnham’s ‘Kingly’ strength in that situation? It doesn’t fill me with confidence, given how tenacious carmakers can be in this country about the ZEV mandate. Not to mention, in the face of growing calls within Labour for the net zero agenda to be sidelined.

In terms of what a Burnham premiership could mean for drivers of all fuel kinds…

Evidence submitted by Vision Zero Greater Manchester – a road safety strategy endorsed by Burnham – to the Transport Select Committee in March, and published on 20 May, may give us an indication.

In short…

1. 20mph speed limits in built-up areas, which follows “robust leadership” by Wales

2. Reduced speed limits on rural roads

3. Mandatory refresher courses for those over 70

4. Restrictions on new drivers, such as a nighttime curfew, smaller engine sizes, and a minimum 12‑month learning period.

Find it here. Albeit, he’ll probably have u-turned by the time you read it.

Quick EV news…

🐴 Ferrari has launched its first EV called the Luce. It hasn’t gone down well with critics, and its shares have slumped. I quite like it. Read more.

😊 “The electric car takeover is now unstoppable” are seven words I never thought I’d see the Daily Telegraph’s World Economy Editor write. But he has. See here (paywall).

🧐 The Guardian has learnt that DfT supports the equalisation of VAT between home and public charging, pinning the blame on the Treasury for keeping it going. DfT advisors have been briefing this to the industry for a while behind the scenes, so to see it in a national paper is interesting. It either means the Treasury is lining up to change it as part of the charging cost review, so DfT is doing a sort of “I heard of that band first,” so Reeves doesn’t get all the glory. Or it’s the opposite, and DfT’s political advisors are taking steps to protect its ministers from bad press. Intriguing. Read here.

😡 Talking politics, the Business and Trade Select Committee has called on ministers to review the ZEV mandate. See their letter here. In response, Vicky Edmonds, Chief Executive Officer of EVA England, said the letter showed “poor judgement at a crucial point in the EV transition”. Adding: “The UK’s focus should be on how to support mass uptake of EVs, in the face of clearly rising demand.”

👎 An analysis of the impact of eVED by BVRLA and New Automotive has found it will be “structurally unfair for rural, semi-rural, and post-industrial communities” as they are areas with high mileage counts. Read more.

💷 Speaking of the cost of EVs, a new survey by Motability Operations has found the proportion of Britons who believe EVs are cheaper to fuel than petrol or diesel vehicles has risen from a fifth (20%) to a quarter (25%) in the past six months. However, confidence in local councils’ deployment of public chargers remains poor. Read here.

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Today’s edition is a day later than usual because my laptop was stolen just before the weekend. To reassure you, if you’re a subscriber – free or paid – my laptop was encrypted and secured – it’s also been remotely wiped. If you’re still concerned, drop me a message.

Top story in the newsletter this week… with ‘plug and charge’ adoption growing, my analysis of carmaker roaming networks suggests it may risk landing drivers with much higher bills.

Elsewhere… EV leaders react badly to the fuel duty freeze extension, a Reform-led council has launched a tender for thousands of chargers, and London is set to get a new 36 bay charging hub.

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn. Also, as an early heads up, there will be no edition during the first week of June – hence the bigger edition last week!

Carmakers found adding more than 50% to contactless prices

Summary: The price of public charging through your car could be some 11.5% more than the standard contactless price, based on a Fast Charge analysis of 15 individual charging sites in London.

On average… prices set by major car brands that operate their own roaming networks, including BMW and Hyundai, were found to be around 9p per kWh higher compared to the average standard price (aka, the one offered via contactless or direct payment). My analysis was conducted using the service A Better Route Planner (ABRP) and cross-referenced against operator pricing. Findings in the table below.

In one exceptional case… I found that BMW owners using its free ‘Flex’ card could end up paying 58% more to use a lamppost charger provided by Shell Recharge Ubitricity – the UK’s largest operator. Typically, these chargers cost 55p per kWh for members of the public. However, several carmaker roaming networks charge way above this, including BMW (87p), Hyundai (83p), and Smart (83p).

Elsewhere… I found several carmakers listing fees up to 53p per kWh for using a charger in a Sainsbury’s carpark which, according to Zapmap, is free.

Read more

Big edition today.

Firstly... A story on BP Pulse’s exit from the AC charging market, which has left hundreds of devices stranded, impacting public bodies, emergency services, and schools.

Secondly... A new twist in the collapse of Green.TV last Autumn, which left £650,000 owed to creditors, as correspondence from the liquidator reveals it is taking action against director Ade Thomas.

Lastly... Used EV sales soar, unclaimed pavement channel funding is redistributed, and nine in ten house hunters want EV charging.

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

BP Pulse’s exit from AC charging market leaves hundreds of organisations with dead machines

Summary: Last week, I wrote about how Warwick had warned drivers that 20 of its EV chargers were no longer working. The chargers in question sat on the BP Pulse network. And I have since learned Warwick is not alone in having its devices switched off. In fact, The Fast Charge has calculated that more than 316 publicly accessible chargers across the UK have been ‘decommissioned’ by BP over the past couple of months, including at hospitals and fire stations.

Why pull the plug? BP Pulse wants to focus solely on deploying rapid and ultra-rapid chargers. They’ve made that clear for a while now. However, what is new is perhaps the urgency behind the scenes in its exit from the AC market. And, based on what I’ve seen, it’s done so without giving organisations much time to make changes.

For some context... 1) AC chargers are slow, or under the new definitions ‘standard’ [3-7kW] or ‘standard plus’ [8-49kW]. 2) This news, as I understand it, is different to the current backlash BP Pulse has faced from B2B customers over its equally speedy exit from workplace schemes. The 316 chargers I’m referring to, which BP Pulse has decommissioned, were all previously public. The reason nobody has noticed is that most sites have already been removed from public maps.

So, what’s happened? Back in Autumn 2025, BP Pulse sent an email to all those who had bought a public charge point from them, explaining that they would soon be ending support for their ‘buyer-funded’ scheme. Under that scheme, chargers bought from BP could gain access to BP Pulse’s public network if organisations paid an annual fee. In return for being on the BP Pulse network, owners of the charger would be passed back any revenue the unit generated from drivers.

In its update to customers... BP Pulse recommended several other operators who could take on the chargers. However, customers were not exactly given much time. BP Pulse initially said they’d end support for all chargers not transferred by 31 December 2025 - so about three months before Christmas. I understand this timeline was ultimately extended well into the first two months of this year, as organisations scrambled to make arrangements with new operators.

According to a list published by BP Pulse... Out of 811 chargers, 495 have been “adopted” by a new operator. Alas, a whopping 316 (which is 39% of the total) are yet to get new owners. As such, these chargers are no longer available. Locations impacted include... hospitals, fire stations, schools, and multiple Aldi and Co-op stores. Large companies, such as Premier Inn, are apparently replacing all their BP Pulse chargers. Find the list here.

One industry source told The Fast Charge... BP could face legal challenges due to the short amount of time given by the oil giant for organisations to switch providers. Another source suggested BP Pulse had overestimated how easy the migration would be to new operators, thinking it could be done remotely when, in fact, engineers have been needed.

When approached about its exit from the AC market... BP Pulse pointed to public pages about the switch. I understand their focus is now firmly on building EV charging hubs and installing EV charging at existing forecourts.

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Liquidator takes action against Ade Thomas over Green.TV Media collapse

Summary: The liquidator appointed to investigate the insolvency of Green.TV Media, which left £650,000 in debts owed to taxpayers and suppliers when it collapsed last September, is “taking action against the director” in connection with matters identified during its investigations, according to correspondence seen by The Fast Charge.

For context... Green.TV Media was a well-known EV brand and operated a portfolio of events and campaigns, including World EV Day, Top Women in EV, and the annual EV Summit in Oxford. The director and founder was Ade Thomas, a prominent voice in the UK’s e-mobility sector.

In an email to a creditor last Friday... Arafino Advisory, which is investigating the collapse of the business, of which Thomas was the sole director, wrote:

“I can confirm that our investigations into the affairs of Green TV Media Limited are ongoing. Where appropriate, we are taking action against the director in connection with matters identified during those investigations. However, at this stage, I am unable to provide details of those actions or the underlying issues, as doing so could prejudice potential claims and recovery actions being pursued for the benefit of creditors.”

In response to this update... Ade Thomas told The Fast Charge on Friday that he was “in ongoing conversation with the liquidators to resolve outstanding issues.”

The update comes just weeks after Thomas launched the ‘World EV Forum’ alongside “75 global EV leaders”. The forum’s purpose, according to posts on LinkedIn, is to foster high-level global collaboration aimed at accelerating e-mobility. By being a member, you get access to several platforms previously owned by Green.TV, such as World EV Day, ElectricDrives, and the EV Summit.

After Green.TV entered liquidation, the business’s assets were acquired by Thomas’ new company, ElectricGlobalMedia Limited. There is no suggestion that the asset sale breached insolvency rules. Companies House records show ElectricGlobalMedia Limited was incorporated on 19 September 2025, one day after Thomas signed Green.TV Media’s Statement of Affairs.

The World EV Forum is the second venture launched by Thomas since Green.TV collapsed. The first venture set up by Thomas was a communications agency named better.global, which also advertised the above platforms. Since contacting Thomas ahead of this story, the website for better.global appears to now be offline.

In recent weeks... The Fast Charge has flagged to the liquidator two instances where Thomas’ new websites referenced Companies House and Data Protection registration numbers that linked back to the insolvent Green.TV Media Limited. In both instances, the liquidator has contacted Thomas to remove the references.

In response to this, Ade Thomas told The Fast Charge:

“We are not consciously using Green.TV legal identities. We have been very clear on that. If there are any oversights with links to Green.TV’s Media’s company details or to a shared Data Protection registration number, that will be updated and removed.”

Arafino Advisory has said creditors will be updated in due course, where it is appropriate and permissible to do so.

When I asked Thomas if he wanted to say anything to people who felt let down last year, he did not respond. Instead, he seems to have blocked me on LinkedIn – where we’d exchanged messages about this story – and also, I think, my phone number.

Latest EV news...

🚗 86,943 used EVs changed hands between the start of January and the end of March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ latest data has found. That’s a huge 32% increase compared to the same period last year. Read more.

👀 And on that note, Autotrader has reported that ‘electric’ was the most popular fuel type for new cars on its platform for the first time ever in April 2026, taking 29% of all new car enquiries. Autotrader, along with other industry partners, have also updated the ‘Facts’ – which is an EV mythbusting campaign endorsed by DfT. Read more.

🧐 Sticking with Autotrader, in a joint survey with Octopus Electroverse, they have found 88% of fuel drivers said they need more information before making the switch to electric. Read more.

⚡️ And now sticking with Electroverse... They have partnered with MFG EV Power to bring ‘Plug and Charge’ to 95% of its locations. This is currently a rare piece of charging tech but it is a crème de la crème approach all CPOs should aspire to, in this reader’s opinion. Read more.

📊 Reform UK gained control of 12 councils during last week’s election – not to mention 1,454 councillors. This will undoubtedly influence net-zero-related work by those authorities, which includes Havering, Suffolk, and Essex. If you missed it last week, check out my write-up on what it could mean for the EV sector.

👋 James Vickery, who has led ZEV mandate policy since 2020 at DfT, has announced he’s moving on to a new role with the BVRLA.

💔 Talking of the ZEV mandate… If the Prime Minister resigns this week and there is a Labour leadership election, should Wes Streeting become PM, I suspect it’ll be likely that the current Business Secretary, Peter Kyle, becomes Chancellor. In that scenario, I would fully expect the ZEV mandate to be quickly upended due to Kyle’s closeness with manufacturers. One to watch.

👑 Keep your eyes peeled shortly for coverage of the King’s Speech. The BBC has a pretty good summary of what is likely to come, which includes permitted development rights for easier deployment of EV charging. Read more. Or the Government has a summary.

💸 DfT cash that went unclaimed by more than a dozen councils to go towards pavement channels has been redistributed. Hat tip to George Watson, who shared the GOV.UK page last week. See it here.

💷 Talking of accessing cheaper charging, HMRC has updated its guidance on VAT. While it acknowledges the First Tier Tribunal decision, the page writes that the policy remains as before. See here.

🏠 Nine in ten house hunters (93%) list energy solutions like solar panels and EV charging as must-haves, according to a new survey by E.ON. Read more.

🔌 According to a new report by Zapmap and the Green Finance Institute, the energy supply across the public network is keeping pace with its surging growth. Read more. This comes after Zapmap has revealed there are now 120,000 chargers in the UK. Read more.

🤖 Lastly... The UK self-driving car company, Wayve, has signed a new memorandum of understanding with the Department for Business and Trade. Details here. I’m increasingly interested in AVs in the UK. I’m considering putting together a free newsletter – would you read it? If yes, add your email here.

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Main item today... Will tomorrow’s elections mark the start of a slippery slope towards greater disparity in charge point coverage across the UK? I review what happened when Reform took over numerous councils last year, including three recommendations based on conversations with EV council officers.

Elsewhere... 2 million EVs have been registered in the UK, new authority partnerships, and what’s happened to Warwick’s chargers?

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

Will the local election results impact the UK’s transition to EVs?

This week, elections will be held across the UK. Not only are 5,000 seats across 136 local authorities being contested, but there are also elections in Scotland and Wales. For Westminster, the results of these elections will be seen as a temperature test of government policy, and many will draw conclusions about the potential results of the next General Election, due to be held in 2029.

Overall... It’s expected that Labour and the Conservatives will bleed councillors heavily to Reform and the Greens, with the Lib Dems also making small gains. The latest prediction, according to PollCheck, suggests 59 councils could change hands, including Norfolk, Essex, and Sunderland. The big overall winner is expected to be Reform, which could gain some 1,400 councillors. Labour could lose more than 1,000 councillors, especially in London, which has always been a stronghold for it.

But the BBC can tell you all that... Today, I wanted to provide a view on how these results could impact the EV transition. And to share what we can learn from councils that have already had to go through this last year.

In the present day...

Given the sheer thousands of candidates standing for parties in these elections, I hope you forgive me if I’ve not been able to stalk each one for their policy views on EVs. Instead, what I have done is decided to focus on the potential fallout from a Reform surge, given it’s the party most likely to disrupt EV policies – either by taking control of councils, or by influencing the direction of other parties.

But before I do, I want to briefly pull out the Green Party. Led by Zack Polanski, the party has really gained popularity this year, especially in London, where it could take control of several authorities, including Hackney and Lewisham. It may well become the second biggest party in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. Given how important clean air is in cities, and the higher-than-average percentage of homes without driveways, this is clearly significant for the EV transition.

And while you may be thinking, ‘Tom, they will help make UK cities a shining beacon of EV brilliance for others to follow’. I wouldn’t bank more than a tenner on it. While the Green Party is clearly in favour of EVs, even previously saying it would bring the ZEV mandate forward to 2027, the party is ultimately not a natural supporter of cars. The Greens would likely remain committed to EV charging, as it’ll tick lots of their social accessibility boxes, but I suspect they will be prioritising public transport, emission zones, and active travel where they can.

Now, onto the party you may be worried about: Reform UK. Led by Nigel Farage, the party has consistently polled higher than the main parties, with a large amount of their success put down to their tough stances on immigration and taxpayer waste.

If there is one policy that Reform has been consistently clear on, it’s their belief in net zero being “stupid”. Even though many of its members own and love their EVs, including Richard Tice, Reform’s Deputy Leader, their concern is that the switch should not be pushed onto hard-working British people, especially if it’s going to cost them more and be impractical. This position all sits neatly into the right-wing view that net zero is only about pleasing a few confused matcha-drinking tree huggers.

However, despite their public pledges to scrap the ZEV mandate, there are reasons to be hopeful that, locally at least, it may not be disastrous.

What we can learn from last year...

During the local elections in 2025, Reform took control of 10 local authorities, including six county councils: Derbyshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Kent, and Staffordshire. Having analysed what those councils did after Reform took power in 2025, my conclusion is that Reform’s electoral bark is not the same as its administrative bite.

Across all six county councils, I found that EV plans have progressed. For example, in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – both part of the East Midlands – they’ve accepted money to deploy pavement EV charging, and have also been moving forward with their Local EV Infrastructure projects. The same can be said for Lancashire, which has plans for 6,665 charge points by 2030, and in Lincolnshire, where the authority has been engaged in pilots with Weena.

Further south, Kent County Council can’t get enough of electrification. The area recently partnered with Urban Fox to install 10,000 chargers – an enormous amount. This was celebrated in a local Reform Facebook group.

And it’s not just chargers. Peter Osborne, the Reform councillor who looks after highways at Kent County Council, has also been filmed unveiling all-electric buses in Dover.

But it has not been entirely smooth. At Staffordshire County Council, the pace slowed up a lot…

Read more

The main story in today’s edition is a look at the status of the West Midlands Gigafactory, which is about to start construction after its detailed site plans were approved this month. However, there is still no confirmed occupant. So, I also take a look at three companies that may be interested in taking it on.

Elsewhere... The large chargepoint installer, ChargedEV, appears to be quietly winding down. In better news, public charging is now cheaper than using petrol.

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

West Midlands prepares to power up gigafactory site. But who will take it on?

Summary: Coventry Airport will permanently close on 11 June 2026, nearly four years after the site was granted permission to build a gigafactory on the aerodrome in 2022. After it’s vacated, the site owners have confirmed construction is set to begin on installing a mega substation capable of powering the future site.

Fresh approvals: This news comes as the site, known officially as ‘Green Power Park’, received permission for its detailed plans for the gigafactory. This includes seven manufacturing facilities ranging from 69,000 square feet to an impressive 1.5 million square feet. The decision was announced in mid-April after the site got approval from Warwick District Council. It also means we now have a much better map of how the gigafactory, which is just a stone’s throw away from the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, will be laid out. Buildings include a recycling centre, an R&D park, and a logistics hub. (Image further down)

This is the first major news about the West Midlands gigafactory in years.... And it got me wondering, what happens next?

As it stands, there is no business signed up to occupy the site. However, that may be about to change. It’s understood that by getting these recent permissions and moving forward with the power supply, that may be enough for the gigafactory, which is a joint venture between Coventry City Council and the large investor Rigby Group, to finally land someone. I understand that NDAs are in place with interested parties who, historically, had said they’d prefer an out-of-the-box arrangement, rather than simply a nod and a wink approach.

There’s also legal pressure on the horizon. From 1 January 2027, new ‘rules of origin’ will come into force across the UK and EU. For car manufacturers selling into Europe, it will mean tougher rules around sourcing materials for EVs and their battery packs. Otherwise, businesses will face tariffs starting from 10%. Given that industry analysis suggests it can take around 12 to 24 months (or much longer) for a battery factory to deliver output, there is hope that it won’t be long until the West Midlands secures an occupant.

But who would it be? Based on my research, I believe there could be three businesses in the frame. And, you guessed it, they are all Chinese.

👉 Before we dive into each business and why they are on my radar, I’d like to remind you that I am but a humble commentator. And ultimately, the rest of what I write here could turn out to be utter balls. Anyway...

1. Chery

There’s long been talk and hints that the Chinese carmaker, Chery, would take on the West Midlands Gigafactory. Chery’s UK head, Victor Zhang, has put on a sort of burlesque show for British stakeholders in recent years, dropping numerous hints but never actually delivering. In 2024, he told the BBC it was “only a matter of time”, and in 2025, I myself witnessed him tell the audience of an SMMT conference that, when it came to a UK factory, “Everything is on the table. We are considering, we are talking with the relevant parties.”

The reason people have their hopes pinned on Chery is because of its ‘localisation’ strategy, which is: In Somewhere, For Somewhere, Be Somewhere. I’m told that this sentence is really core to how Chery thinks. And given that Omoda and Jaecoo are doing stonkingly well in the UK, there’s a lot of reason to believe they’ll deliver on that.

At the Beijing Automotive Show this week, Chery announced grand plans to serve 10 million customers outside China by 2030. At the conference, Farrell Hsu, Country Director of Chery UK, said: “Our exceptional momentum in the UK reflects the strong appetite for high-quality, practical and accessible vehicles. In 2027, we’ll continue to introduce models which respond directly to how families live and travel today. We are confident in our ability to continue building meaningful and sustained growth in this market.”

I understand that soon Chery will announce that it’ll build an R&D centre in the UK. And this is different from the centre they are already committed to in Liverpool, which is for commercial vehicles. This would be passenger-focused, but the timing is unknown, as is the location.

Could it be West Midlands? We know from the approved site plans (above) that it will have an R&D centre right across the road from UKBIC. And in the time it takes to get the rest of the larger buildings up and going, one could easily put on Talking Heads and declare ‘This Must Be The Place’.

However… Riley here is a bit sceptical. My understanding is that Chery has never visited UKBIC. And that seems odd to me. Kind of like buying a house without viewing it. Likewise, from the many people I’ve spoken to connected with the site, I got the sense that Chery may have (or had) an interest, but perhaps it needs to firm up its thinking.

2. NIO

Last year, I boldly wrote about my belief that NIO may be in the frame to take over the Coventry site, as part of its other tie-ups with Forseven, which ultimately merged with McLaren Automotive in April 2025. All these brands are owned and backed by the Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings.

At the time of my report in 2025, there was a lot of evidence pointing to some sort of UK-China deal, based on written responses I was receiving from the UK government through FOI requests. And then the fact that the Business & Trade department said on the record: “While we cannot speculate on commercial investment decisions, we are supportive of NIO’s existing UK operations and would positively view any new investment in the UK.”

Not much has happened since the merger of Forseven and McLaren. However, we know NIO is planning to bring its ‘Firefly’ – a challenger to the Renault 5 – to the UK sometime this year. And we know that NIO will be supplying its battery platform to whatever ‘luxury’ vehicle McLaren ends up making with Forseven.

Likewise, the latest accounts of NIO UK, signed off in October 2025, suggested that the company was in sleep mode, writing: “Management’s ongoing operational expenses are brought to a minimum which will enable management to patiently explore the optimal moment for the market entrance in the future.”

This could just relate to the car launch. But maybe it’s something more? Only a month ago, NIO was hiring for an ‘Advanced Chassis Expert’ who could “push boundaries and develop new and advanced Chassis technologies and Chassis Systems that will allow the creation of new and exciting engineering solutions for our future vehicles.”

I think it remains a contender...

3. CATL

It’s not got a very sexy name - Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited – but ‘CATL’ is the world’s largest battery manufacturer. It supplies batteries to all the major carmakers, including Tesla, BMW, Ford, Volvo, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, and Toyota. And in China, it also supplies brands like NIO, Geely, SAIC, and XPeng.

If any company could take on a the gigafactory in Coventry and make a success of it, my money would be on CATL. And there’s some evidence to suggest that might be a possibility.

In May 2025, the Chinese company registered in the UK, according to Companies House. Its office is linked to Vistra, a firm that helps businesses set up operations, hire staff, and manage tax and accounting during international expansion.

In the UK company, there are three registered directors. One is John H. Kwon, General Counsel of Global Legal & Strategy at CATL. According to his LinkedIn, he looks like a big fish, and it suggests he is the ‘Chairman of the Board’ in the UK. Which also implies there’s potentially more structure to this UK entity than might be publicly known?

The other directors are Aleksej Kruekov, a Senior Manager for Service and Aftersales across CATL’s EMEA business. And also Lan Xinghui, who I understand is a Senior Energy Storage Manager.

On the surface, the reason for this company being registered may be very explainable. CATL already supplies batteries in the UK, and is known to be involved in a lot of battery storage developments. In 2024, they signed an agreement with Rolls-Royce, and in January this year, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer was visiting China, the investment business Schroders signed a memorandum with CATL. Both agreements focused on battery storage projects. It would also align with the company’s registered SIC codes (above).

Furthermore, CATL already has several active operations in mainland Europe. Given the terms of the UK-EU agreement, perhaps it does not need to be here. That’s the view that BYD took when considering where to be based, and ultimately decided the mainland was better.

And yet... I noticed that seven months ago, the UK was the ‘country of honour’ at the 25th China International Fair for Investment & Trade. At the conference, James Turner, formerly Head of Strategic Marketing Projects at the West Midlands Growth Company, spoke at the event to promote EV and battery opportunities in the UK. The event was located in Fujian province, which is also where CATL is headquartered.

Maybe CATL’s full UK story is yet to come…

What happens now...

All we can do is wait and see. I understand there are conversations and businesses interested. The fact that the site is now closer to ‘oven-ready’ will surely help.

Obviously, the UK has had mixed success getting gigafactories going. Agratas in Somerset, owned by Tata, needed a huge amount of incentives to start. Likewise, the AESC plant in Sunderland, which supports the Nissan plant, has received huge amounts of funding from the government.

As I was preparing this story, I wondered what would happen if no one could be persuaded to take on the West Midlands site; would it go the way of Britishvolt and end up as a data centre, for example? My understanding is that’s simply not an option, as the site only has permission for battery manufacturing. So, fingers crossed!

Latest EV news...

⚡️ In good news, ChargeUK analysis, using RAC Fuel Watch and Zapmap figures, revealed last week that the cost of charging an EV on the public networks is now lower on average than petrol or diesel for the first time in over a year. This is great, but as we know, it could be cheaper still! Read more. In other ChargeUK news, congratulations to Dora Clarke from Osprey, who has been appointed the body’s Communications Chair.

☹️ In less good news... According to a post on LinkedIn, the chargepoint installer, ChargedEV, is quietly winding down. Dozens of staff now wear the ‘Opentowork’ banner. Based in the Midlands, according to its latest accounts, the company reported a loss of more than £3.8m in the year up to April 2025. In those accounts, the company blamed pricing pressure from competitors that focussed on volumes over margins. In 2025, the average number of employees at the company was 98. The ultimate owner of ChargedEV is Zigup Plc, which trades on the FTSE 250.

👉 The 49 Collective, a campaign to promote women driving change, is running a Spring campaign to celebrate individuals across the energy and clean transport sectors who are actively creating opportunities, championing inclusion, and building environments where women can thrive. Nominations can be made here – you have until 7 May.

🚽 Funny story uncovered by AutoExpress. Apparently, a Chinese EV company has patented an in-car toilet. Read more.

💷 West Cumbria has received £3.4m as part of the LEVI fund to install hundreds of chargers. Read more.

🙅‍♂️ Readers may recall my recent story about the North Yorkshire Council abandoning its planned rollout of chargers. Following that, one of the council chiefs briefed local news outlets that my report was incorrect. Two points. Firstly, in the correspondence I saw from the council, they used the word ‘abandon’ three times. Secondly, the council made no effort to correct my use of it when I approached them for a comment. Maybe they got a ticking off from OZEV?

🗳️ Finally, speaking of councils, next Thursday, it’s the local elections. Many will see this as a temperature check on Starmer’s Government and an indication of what a general election may bring. The consensus is that Labour and the Conservatives will bleed heavily to the Lib Dems, Greens, and Reform. I’ll write a digest beforehand on how this situation may affect the EV sector. In advance, if you have any thoughts, do ping them my way.

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Top story in today’s edition... I have reviewed 38 operators of rapid chargers to determine how many complied with the Government’s mandated 99% reliability rules during 2025. This research factors in a list obtained from the Department for Transport, highlighting which operators supplied reports to the Secretary of State.

Elsewhere... EV sales are surging, and new data finds they’re now cheaper than their petrol counterparts. Lovely stuff!

As always, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

Analysis: Only 4 in 10 networks meet 99% uptime rules

Headline: Fewer than half of the UK’s charging networks are compliant with laws that came into force from November 2024, mandating transparency around the reliability of rapid charge points as well as a 99% uptime target.

Summary: According to an analysis of 38 operators of rapid chargers by The Fast Charge Newsletter, there are only 16 networks fully compliant with the legal requirements. To save you the mental maths, that means of those 38, there were 22 that did not meet the requirements.

Under the rules, an operator is compliant with the regulations when they:

1. Maintain 99% uptime across all its chargers with speeds at or above 50kW

2. List on its website its compliance with the reliability requirement, and

3. Submit annual reports to the Secretary of State for Transport and the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).

Failure to meet the rules can land a charging network with a £10,000 fine.

For context... Before conducting this analysis, I obtained a list of all the networks that had submitted reports to the Transport Secretary after the first tranche of reliability reports were due in for the year 2025. That deadline was 14 January 2026. After a bit of back and forth with the Department for Transport, I eventually got the list.

However... Before sharing the list with me, a DfT official told me that the OPSS still needed to have discussions with operators to verify the submitted information to assess whether each network met the required standard. Officials also explained, “The Government does not intend to publish information on compliance with the reliability requirement, as the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 make it mandatory for operators to publish this information themselves.” So, the list I obtained only showed which networks had successfully submitted a report (aka, point 3 above).

Given this rather laid-back position... I decided to undertake my own research. To do this, I first when through the list I obtained, removing duplicates as well as new networks or those with tiny deployments - for example, Connected Kerb, which only has six rapid chargers. I then also included in my research several networks that I know operate rapid chargers, though they were not on the list supplied by DfT, suggesting they failed to report.

To determine whether they were compliant… I spent a ‘thrilling’ day going through my list and checking each operator’s website to see if they listed their compliance with the reliability rules. And all my findings are included in the table below, but here’s my headline analysis…

The good... We should begin on a positive note, and that is the finding that 16 networks in the UK are meeting the high standard set by the UK government. Those 16 alone include some of the country’s biggest rapid charging networks, including InstaVolt, MFG, Gridserve, and Osprey – collectively they represent more than a third of all rapid chargers. Also, though they were a few percentage points short of 99%, making them non-compliant, it was good to see that BP Pulse, Shell Recharge, and Believ all shared their figures on their website.

Read more

Top story in today’s edition... North Yorkshire Council, the largest UK authority by geography, has abandoned its £8 million government-backed plan to roll out EV chargers in a blow to the region. The news applies further pressure on a government review of pricing at public chargers. Full story below.

Elsewhere... Lots of hub openings, Tata gets more millions from the public, and the most pretentious car advert I’ve seen to date. Also, the Department for Transport has not just done one good thing since last week, but two!

Finally, it was super to join Liz Allan on her Electric Evolution Podcast this week. We discussed a lot, including the realities of the EV industry and my experience reporting on it. Take a listen here.

As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn. I always enjoy hearing from people.

Scoop: North Yorkshire Council abandons its EV charging rollout

A plan to install thousands of EV chargers across North Yorkshire’s green and pleasant land had been in the works since 2023. The plan, which was backed with £8.1m from the Department for Transport, was set to be one of the country’s largest public charging contracts under the government’s local EV infrastructure fund.

But... North Yorkshire Council surprised industry leaders this month by “abandoning” its EV charging rollout due to “significant changes in the EV market” and “wider economic conditions,” according to correspondence from North Yorkshire Council and seen by The Fast Charge Newsletter.

Big project: It’s believed by one industry source that North Yorkshire Council expected 3,000 charge points to be installed across the region and that the rollout was due to be delivered by Connected Kerb. North Yorkshire Council confirmed that Connected Kerb was the awarded operator; however, the authority made clear its decision to halt its programme had nothing to do with their ability to deliver.

So, why cancel? Within its formal notice of procurement abandonment, North Yorkshire Council cited several factors that caused it to revisit its plans, which were put in motion in November 2024, including:

• Significant market changes... The council wrote that the EV charging market had undergone fundamental change, noting that there had been shifting ownership among operators, which, as a result, had caused substantial amendments to contract terms. The authority noted the “EV charging sector has shifted at pace, and the market picture today is materially different to when the procurement commenced. A revised approach is required to ensure alignment with current supplier models and market realities.”

• Economic conditions... The council wrote that global volatility in energy tariffs had introduced further risk, making the continuation of its procurement economically unviable for the council. This was reinforced further by the council, which blamed “notable increases in standing charges, including instances where these are uncapped.” The authority wrote that this trend had significantly affected its EV programme’s viability.

• Strategic misalignment... Lastly, the council suggested that its current approach would no longer meet its objectives, claiming that proceeding without addressing the gaps in its approach would risk “failing to deliver the strategic, commercial, and operational outcomes required.”

North Yorkshire Council confirmed the news but declined to provide an on-record comment. However, the authority did tell me that there were benefits in altering their approach, and that by revisiting the procurement strategy, the authority could reflect the current market and secure the best long-term solution for North Yorkshire. The council is now undertaking a review of its position. This review will look at its commercial model, contract structure, and its overall strategic delivery approach for EV charging.

DfT, who run the LEVI scheme, said it would not be appropriate for them to comment on the decision by North Yorkshire Council. However, I’m told officials were aware of the council’s decision and expect it to re-tender, though the timing is unknown.

Anyway… Where does this leave Connected Kerb?

North Yorkshire was an important contract for the network. So much so that it was highlighted in the investment note used by the Government’s National Wealth Fund to back the company with £55m last year. An investment which, for many in the EV sector, remains controversial given the operator was loss-making at the time.

The Fast Charge obtained the investment note used by the National Wealth Fund in 2025. Dubbed ‘Project Wayside’, the document was heavily redacted. However, a map was included under the sub-header ‘deal information’, highlighting regions of the UK expected to receive significant deployment by Connected Kerb. One of these was North Yorkshire. This suggests the contract formed part of the wider national rollout used to underpin the taxpayer-backed investment.

When asked about the impact of the abandoned contract… Connected Kerb did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the National Wealth Fund defended its investment in the operator, saying:

“Improving access to electric vehicle charging is an important sector for the National Wealth Fund as reflected in our new strategy.

“Our investment in Connected Kerb has been based on its nationwide pipeline to rollout on-street charging points across a multitude of locations, not on any one area.

“Our investment decisions are guided by a comprehensive view of the market and a commitment to supporting government policy objectives. As with all of our deals, this investment was subject to a thorough and robust due diligence process.”

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Latest EV news...

☹️ Two weeks ago, I wrote that EO Charging was on the verge of entering administration, and last Thursday, a statement by PwC confirmed that it had indeed happened. As a result, 69 employees have been made redundant. PwC will now look to sell its assets. Thoughts with those who have lost their roles.

💷 Agratas, the company building a gigafactory in Somerset to supply batteries to JLR, has in the past week received a £380m cheque from the government. The Business Secretary, Peter Kyle, said the money would “help ensure advanced manufacturing remains a thriving sector in the UK for decades to come.” It’s good news. Read more. However, is anyone else not a little curious about the vast sums that Tata-related companies seem to get from UK taxpayers? The government provided a £500m subsidy to their steel business in 2024. And last year, when JLR (owned by Tata) fell apart because of cybersecurity weaknesses, the govt guaranteed a loan worth £1.5 billion. And that’s not to mention when the Prime Minister got involved in sorting out JLR’s tariff situation with President Trump and announced flexibilities to the ZEV mandate from JLR’s factory. I know we like a Range Rover in this country, and want to keep jobs here, but where does it end?

👍 Last week saw some good news for charge points in the UK, as the Department for Transport announced changes that should streamline admin and lower costs for installations in England, as it moves to a permit system for street works. Read more.

🔋 Also in DfT news, officials have launched a consultation that may bring about a standardised battery health check, which will provide greater confidence for the used EV market. Thomas McLennan, from the BVRLA, said, “This consultation moves that reality forward and has the potential to put clear, comparable, and easily accessible battery health information in the hands of drivers and fleet operators. That clarity is critical in giving used EV buyers the confidence they need to make the market stable and sustainable.” Find the consultation here. It closed on 25 May.

👉 Interesting comment piece in The Times’ Money section further supporting the fact that rising oil prices are causing more families to consider the cost savings from going electric. Read more (paywall). It will be interesting to see if the current shift outweighs people’s concerns about eVED.

🙅‍♂️ East Devon District Council has rejected plans for 30 EV chargers near a business park due to concerns that, should an EV catch fire, water used to put the car out could end up in the local water supply. This would present a health risk. An interesting case, and this wasn’t the only reason for rejection. Read more.

🔌 In better news, Thurrock in Essex is due to get 4,046 new chargers over the next 15 years as part of a deal with Zest. The deployment will consist of a combination of lampposts and rapid chargers. Read more.

🤨 Talking of Zest, there was an interesting comment by the operator’s CEO, Robin Heap, on LBC, writing about the charging industry not having a Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code it naturally falls under. It’s interesting as these codes are used by authorities to monitor and research industries. So, if all the networks are using different codes, policymakers may not have a true picture. Surprised nobody has realised this until now. Read more.

🎳 Raw Charging is continuing its surge of openings, this week launching a rapid EV charging hub with 32 bays at the Cardigan Fields leisure complex in Leeds. Read more.

🕺 Talking of hubs, E.ON Drive has unveiled four 300kW chargers in York. They’re located near George Hudson Street, making it a perfect spot to plug in and spend your waiting time dancing on the revolving floor at Popworld. Read more.

⚡️ On rapid charging, BYD has confirmed plans to roll out 300 of its 1,500kW ‘Flash’ chargers in the UK over the next 12 months. And it sounds like the sites will be open for all, which is a problem, because most EVs can’t charge up that fast. Autocar reports that BYD is still figuring out how to manage it, and this may include penalising people who block them up. Read more.

📈 Elsewhere, it’s all happening in Hertfordshire. Firstly, the county council has appointed Believ to deliver up to 4,000 chargers as part of a £38m deal. Meanwhile, East Herts Council has signed up Otaski Energy Solutions to install 193 slower chargers. Read more.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 A bit more remote than the home counties... up in the Western Isles of Scotland, an insightful report on local councillors discussing plans for EV charging, noting that a hub may be planned for Islay. Good news for any EV drivers considering a whisky tour. Read more.

🚗 Coming to the salesroom in 2027, an electric version of the Nissan Juke. Unlike some previous iterations of the Juke, the EV version looks quite good. Read more.

😅 Finally, what on Earth is happening at Rolls-Royce? They have just unveiled their coach-built two-seat EV convertible called the Nightingale.

Ignoring the rather ‘out there’ baby blue they’ve applied to the car, who the hell buys a convertible from Rolls-Royce? Unless you are a Middle Eastern Sultan, I am not sure who RR is trying to cater to. Its promo video is such a mess, to the point of hilarity. Images of a young woman peering out from a beach into a sunset, then the car. Then images of a ballerina. Then a man throws some paper. Then back to the beach woman, oh wait, show the car again. It is literally Fry and Laurie’s mock perfume advert come to life. See it here.

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Top story in today’s edition... I’ve obtained emails that show how officials at the Department for Transport guided Tesla on how to keep its lobbying efforts hidden from public view.

Elsewhere... A huge month for EV registrations, new cheaper tariffs, but both carmakers and networks hold clenched fists over the mandate review.

Also… I’m trying to get going posting videos on TikTok again. My first back highlights the most desperate attempt I’ve seen by someone to use their home supply on a busy street in Belgravia. Watch here. If you have any content ideas, especially in London, please slide into my DMs.

As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn. Likewise, if you are not already a paying subscriber, please do consider supporting me. For the best price, always get in touch!

🚨 Revealed: The emails showing how officials helped Tesla keep its lobbying secret

Summary: The Department for Transport guided Tesla on which legal arguments to use so that the US carmaker’s lobbying, which included asking for ‘preferential tax for EVs’, could be withheld from public disclosure, emails obtained by The Fast Charge reveal.

Context... In 2025, the UK Government kicked off the year with a consultation about making changes to the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate. This consultation included asking carmakers about what incentives or changes could boost the uptake of electric cars. That consultation concluded in April 2025, with the Prime Minister announcing a host of new flexibilities to support carmakers. Later in the year, a new Electric Car Grant was launched, followed by more funding for charge points.

Further to efforts by this newsletter... by Summer 2025, the submissions by major manufacturers, such as JLR, BMW, Volkswagen, and Toyota, were released by DfT. However, the submissions belonging to Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Tesla were not. I challenged this in Autumn last year and, after several months, these other submissions were released.

BUT... Tesla’s submission contained around five pages of entirely redacted pages. This included Tesla’s policy suggestions on which incentives DfT should employ to boost EV demand, which were entirely blacked out. This means, while we know what every other carmaker asked for, we know very little about what Tesla lobbied officials for.

Until today... As I have since obtained the email exchanges between DfT officials and Tesla discussing the disclosure of their consultation response. And I was pretty shocked by it. Not by Tesla’s objections, but by how DfT seemed to have gone about the whole thing.

For example... After Tesla initially objected to releasing their entire response, an unnamed DfT official appears to have simply accepted the company’s argument without any pushback. In a two-sentence email in July 2025, they confirmed that Tesla’s response would not be released.

However... Following my request that DfT review its decision in Autumn, they entirely reversed their position. DfT instead put a long explanation to Tesla as to why the exemption they first used under the Environmental Information Regulations was incorrect.

And that’s not the only revelation... In the same email to Tesla, DfT set out how the US carmaker could use an alternative legal exemption under transparency laws to keep its contentious areas redacted. The DfT official explained in detail the four-part evidential test that Tesla would need to satisfy so DfT could hold them back. The department then gave Tesla five days to submit a fresh argument.

Read more

Top story in today’s edition... I understand that EO Charging, once valued at around half a billion and which counts Amazon as a client, is preparing to sell its remaining business following mounting losses.

Elsewhere... DfT publishes a helpful page about the changes to chargepoint data, lots of new deployments, but fears around rising plug costs linger.

As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

Update: On Thursday 9 April 2026, EO Charging, registered as Juuce Limited, entered administration as it failed to find a buyer. Most staff have been laid off as a result.

EO Charging set for sale as losses mount

Headline: EO Charging, the British-founded EV charge point firm whose clients include Amazon, Tesco, and DHL, is preparing to sell its remaining business amid mounting losses and could enter administration, The Fast Charge understands.

Background: EO has been around for a long time. It was founded in 2014 by Charlie Jardine at his grandparents’ farm inside a former pig shed. As a first mover in the EV sector, the company quickly outgrew the pigsty and grew to dominate the charge point market for fleets and homeowners, especially after the announcement of a ZEV mandate in the UK.

Well backed... As a result of its early leading position, EO received millions in funding, including from Zouk Capital, which manages HM Treasury’s Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund. That fund consists of up to £200m of taxpayer cash mixed with private investor capital. In 2018, Zouk provided £13m to EO. And in 2023, after EO walked away from a £488m ($675m) deal to list on the Nasdaq, Zouk joined other backers with a £66m equity investment.

Since then, however, the company has struggled. In the face of political uncertainty around the globe and at home, and operating in an increasingly competitive market, the growth EO expected has not followed. According to its latest accounts, EO Charging (registered as JUUCE Limited) lost nearly £24m in 2024. The company’s liabilities exceeded its assets by more than £21m at year-end, underlining the severity of its financial position.

During 2025... EO underwent a total restructuring, which included exiting the US market and selling its domestic EV charger hardware and manufacturing business. The company said it had received £25m from existing backers in November last year, including Zouk and Vortex Energy (a Middle Eastern investor), alongside an increased debt facility with HSBC.

However... Despite EO saying the investment provided “a strong foundation for the company’s next phase of growth” and that investors are demonstrating “continued confidence,”... Only weeks later, in its accounts signed in December 2025, Deloitte, EO Charging’s auditor, provided a very different and bleaker appraisal of its position.

Deloitte stated that... “a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group’s and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”, noting that its recent funding is contingent on the company meeting performance targets. Deloitte also issued a qualified opinion on the accounts, which indicates the auditor was unable to obtain sufficient evidence in certain areas. In short, the auditor was unable to satisfy itself on certain aspects, reducing confidence in the figures presented.

In recent months, the situation seems to have gotten worse... I understand that EO is preparing to sell its remaining business, with a sale process expected to take place during April. Given that the group has already sold most of its hard assets, the process will likely focus on its software platform and client relationships. If a transaction is not secured, the company could enter administration.

Response... EO Charging was contacted several times for a comment, and as of the time of publishing, I have not received a response. I even took it upon myself to visit their registered office in Paddington on Monday. They were not listed on the board behind the reception desk, though a secretary said they were based on the ground floor, but that nobody was in.

Zouk Capital and HM Treasury were also approached for comment.

Latest EV news...

👉 George Watson, a former local authority officer, has launched EVinfrastructure.co.uk as an independent information hub on everything EV charging in the UK. It explains which authorities are participating in schemes, such as the pavement channel fund or LEVI, and their status. I find it very helpful, and I know George is underway with making dedicated authority pages. Check it out here.

📊 Talking of EV charging, the Department for Transport published an FAQs last week covering the recent changes to how charge points are counted. It included the news that DfT is planning to release new stats covering public charging on the strategic road network and at motorway service areas, summary statistics for the number of EVs per public EV charger, and public EV charger utilisation statistics. See the page here.

📈 Speaking of rapid charging, a couple of stories this week suggest prices for charging networks have soared, in one case by up to 38,000%. As such, ChargeUK is calling for standing charges to be reviewed urgently, as otherwise the cost will be passed onto drivers. There already is a cost of charging review ongoing in the Treasury, though perhaps, if the Sunday Times is to be believed, the ZEV mandate review may happen early, maybe the cost review should conclude sooner too.

💷 And the price story continues. In Bristol yesterday, the local council approved an EV strategy that acknowledged the city requires 600 more chargers installed by 2027, compared to the 200 in place today. See here. One of the likely ways the authority will meet that will be by installing lamppost charging. However, one Bristol councillor – whose surname is amusingly ‘Kent’ – has expressed concern at their cost being ten times more than those charging at home. Read more.

🔌 Further North, Manchester has launched a pilot of 38 lamppost chargers with AMEY. If there’s good utilisation, the scheme will expand. Read more.

🏝️ We might as well go for three lamppost stories in a row... The Isle of Wight has appointed Char.gy as its chosen network to deliver up to 1,500 devices across the island for residents. Read more.

👍 Seems it’s the week for new initiatives. Transport for Wales has revealed a new tool, named ChargePoint Navigator, which is designed to reduce costs and support EV infrastructure planning across its 22 local authorities. Read more.

🏠 Reading has launched a pavement channel trial for residents with Kerbo Charge. Read more.

🛍️ Raw Charging has opened a new rapid hub at Chesterfield’s retail park. This is part of its large deal with Landsec. Read more.

⚡️ Talking of speed, Gridserve has launched a new hub near Folkestone. Read more.

🔋 With petrol on the cusp of running out, Octopus Electric Vehicles has reported a 36% rise in enquiries. Read more. Meanwhile, an analysis in The Guardian suggests that if more EVs had vehicle-to-grid capacity, more people could be using their car like a home battery, helping us from future oil shocks. Read more.

🕵️ Was James Bond a sleeper agent? Daniel Craig has popped up promoting a new electric supercar developed by the Chinese carmaker Denza. The concept coupe is called the ‘Z’ but its actual name will be revealed at Goodwood this summer. Read more.

🚀 Talking of cars and violence, a report this week suggested VW may be shifting one of its factories in Osnabrueck from making cars to making missile systems (“Jast lyke za olden days, ja!”). The FT highlighted how this demonstrates that European carmakers, in the face of more competition and targets, may be moving to totally new businesses altogether. Read more (paywall).

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email

Top story in today’s edition... Is bp pulse lining up to go shopping? I take a look, as industry sources suggest Gridserve may be the target.

Elsewhere... European carmakers throttle back, DfT announces new EV funding for fleets, and LOTS of new charge point deployments.

Also this morning… the BBC ran an important segment on EV charging cable theft. I was pleased to be part of it, and great to see Osprey featured too. I’ve uploaded a video of the segment here.

As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

Targets acquired? Oil giant bp lines itself up to invest in UK charging

Summary: The UK boss of bp pulse, the charging network run by the British oil giant, was appointed last week to a bp subsidiary set up to coordinate and invest in its EV charging and wider mobility businesses globally. It comes as bp revealed in its latest annual report this month that the UK is a priority market for EV charging investment.

Bp pulse’s UK manager is Valerio Ferro. He has been at the helm of bp’s charging business in Britain since September 2024, however, it was only last week that he became a director of the UK arm’s significant owner, named BP Advanced Mobility. The latter was set up to manage and invest into EV charging. This change, taken together with bp’s most recent annual report filing, suggests that bp pulse may be on the verge of splashing the cash...

When asked... A spokesperson for the oil giant played down Valerio’s appointment, saying it came as long-serving BP executive Martin Thomsen was stepping back. However, on the possibility of an acquisition, the spokesperson said they wouldn’t comment on market rumour or speculation.

Perhaps it’s a coincidence... However, these corporate moves arrive at a time when many industry insiders believe Gridserve, the motorway-focussed ultra-rapid charging network, may be preparing to get bought out. There are several reasons given as to why this is...

Read more

Top stories in today’s paid edition... I recap last week’s SMMT Electrified event, their call for an urgent ZEV mandate review, and whether they’ve softened their stance on EV charging following an ‘amnesty’ with charging networks.

Elsewhere... As ChargeUK turns four, it loses several networks… lots of great local council initiatives have been launched… and three Waymos snapped using InstaVolt chargers.

As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

You’re joking - not another one! My analysis of SMMT’s call for a ZEV mandate review…

Background: Last Thursday, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) hosted its conference focussed on electrification. Before this year, the event was always run biannually, though this is the first time they’ve been run in successive years. One would imagine this is a positive recognition of the industry’s shift to go electric. However, sadly, the day was anything but that.

During the morning... SMMT released a new analysis suggesting the cost of going electric for carmakers and consumers was now so out of kilter with the initial projections that it was time for an urgent ZEV mandate review. In their wording, ‘market reality bites’.

Obviously... This was always going to happen. It was unlikely going to be the case that Mike Hawes, CEO of SMMT, would step on a stage and go “Guys! Tremendous news, 1 in 4 electric cars being registered are now electric. Can you believe it! Hats off to everyone – what a feat, take Sunday off!” No, of course not, we all know carmakers want an early review of the ZEV mandate. They tried to get it called early before Christmas, via the Minister for Industry, who was visiting Nissan in Sunderland. That ended with a strong rebuttal from Downing Street.

By the time SMMT’s pre-conference press briefing arrived, I gave way to the spirit of Brenda from Bristol and I asked Mike directly: “Will there ever be a year when you do not ask for a ZEV mandate review? It feels like the UK’s automotive industry is at risk of being seen as the boy that cried wolf. Where does it end?”... I don’t know Mike well enough to know whether his returning stare was one of genuine intrigue or more like... ‘who invited this prat’. His response pointed back to their published analysis.

The day continued to be frustrating... During the morning talks, the call for an urgent ZEV mandate carried on, with VW, Ford, Volvo, Stellantis, JLR, and Toyota all jumping in on the action. It felt like being in Groundhog Day. The audience's mood felt damp.

On a better note... Some attendees who had the opportunity to speak did do their best to present a positive case for EVs, and that included the EV Minister, Keir Mather.

Read more

In today’s edition... New polling reveals more support for the ZEV mandate than those against. But as long as it’s affordable.

Elsewhere... Vicky Read stands down from ChargeUK, BYD’s flash chargers, and a reminder that the eVED consultation closes soon!

As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

📊 New poll finds nearly half of Brits back EV targets

Headline: Nearly half of British people (48%) say the government should keep its EV targets if cars become more affordable, according to YouGov polling commissioned by WA Communications and being reported exclusively in The Fast Charge today.

By comparison... Only three in ten believe the targets should be moved, while one in four did not know.

These results are positive for the EV sector. Presently, it is a deeply assumed belief that most of the public does not support EVs at large, and that the recent cooling of demand reflects wider consumer worries about the shift. Only this month, a separate survey found 55% would not go electric because of worries over the government introducing electric Vehicle Excise Duty, which could cost EV drivers hundreds of pounds annually from 2028.

However... This new polling signals there is public support, though only if EVs are affordable. In the poll, 36% of respondents said their backing for EV targets was contingent on them being affordable, whereas 12% supported the targets unconditionally.

Later this week... The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders will host its Electrified conference, and it’s highly anticipated that the carmaker lobby group will ask for more flexibility on the EV targets, claiming EV sales are only happening because of manufacturer discounting. It is also expected that SMMT may continue to call for a mandate on EV charge point installations, which would have to be met by EV charging networks.

Interestingly... In the new polling, when asked who was most responsible for making sure the UK has enough reliable EV chargers, only 2% said charging operators. In fact, 4% pointed to carmakers themselves. In the main, though, a quarter (26%) of Brits believe the responsibility lies with the UK government. This is quite a surprise, as most actual public charging deployment sits with local councils, through schemes such as LEVI, yet only 7% of the public saw councils as having the most responsibility.

Worryingly for Whitehall... Given how many see them as responsible, when the public was asked about which sources they trusted most for information on EVs, only 12% mentioned the government or public bodies. This is concerning given the large communications campaign currently being led by the Department for Transport. In February, DfT told The Fast Charge that its campaign is multi-channel, but it would be interesting to know where exactly their messages are appearing.

In contrast... Independent consumer organisations, such as Which? and Citizens' Advice, scored 47% trust in the new survey. Carmakers also achieved a higher percentage (17%) than the government, albeit largely boosted by a very high degree of trust amongst 18- to 24-year-olds (27%). At the opposite end, only 5% of respondents said they trusted energy and charging companies. It was the same for news media (5%), and even less for social media influencers (3%). That’s a big piece of insight for comms teams within the EV sector.

When the response was broken down by political party voting... The poll results were how you might expect, though with some interesting nuances. For example, 55% of respondents who have previously voted for Reform were supportive of changing the EV targets. But a chunky 22% of Reform voters would support the targets if EVs were affordable. That’s a large amount, and it really underlines how important cost is to this transition.

My final outtake from the polling was... Shock. Shock at the perception the public has around domestic versus public charging prices. According to WA Comms’ poll, 38% believe public and home charging should cost the same. And an additional 11% believe public charging should be cheaper than at home. Translating this to plain English... that’s almost half of those surveyed (49%) holding a view at odds with the reality of how EV charging is operated. It should certainly be food for thought for the industry and the government, who are currently reviewing public charge point pricing.

You can find the YouGov results here. Thank you to WA Communications for commissioning this research and providing it to The Fast Charge. I was pleased to discuss them with others at a panel event yesterday alongside Perran Moon MP, Claire Miller, and Sir Philip Rutnam.

Latest EV news...

⚡️ ChargeUK (1): It was International Women’s Day on Sunday, and in quite a surprise, a few days beforehand, Vicky Read, CEO of ChargeUK and one of the UK EV industry’s most senior women, announced she was stepping down. Several industry sources have speculated as to why she has left. Some argued she was pushed by bolshy members unhappy with the trade bodies’ progress, while others have simply suggested she’s delivered a great stint. My understanding is likely closer to the latter with Vicky. In a LinkedIn post, Vicky remarked she wanted to pass the baton to someone with a “fresh pair of legs” and mentioned that she’d spent four years involved with the group.

⚡️ ChargeUK (2): As Vicky steps down, she will leave behind an industry group that has no women on its board and a largely male day-to-day team. Although, the association has told me there are women on its All Member Council. Moving forward, I understand the relatively new Chair, Iain Coucher, is expected to play a bigger leadership role at ChargeUK. Several industry sources have shared concerns with me about the gender imbalance at the top of the public charging industry. Alas, in better news, perhaps you are the person to help change that – and lead ChargeUK as CEO after Vicky steps down. The job spec is here. It comes with a £130-150k salary with benefits. Tasty.

✍️ In a similar note, during Global Women in EV Day, one of the outcomes was the establishment of The 49 Collective. The group was set up to get organisations together around a shared commitment to improving visibility, opportunity, and leadership for women across the EV industry. The group is currently looking for organisations to sign up to its Charter – this is something I will be doing, and I do encourage readers to take a look here. Ps. If you’re wondering ‘why 49?’, it’s because 49% of driving licence holders in the UK are women.

🛢️ As readers may recall, I recently had an awful house move, and it seems I missed the start of the Iran war. You can get views on that elsewhere, but my observation is that any activity in oil states often results in greater interest in EVs. That’s what happened during the last energy/oil spike. It comes as new research from the network Char.gy suggests £20 of electricity will take you further than £20 of petrol. Read more.

🔋 Talking of charging, last week BYD unveiled a demo of its ‘flash charging’ forecourt, which can deliver speeds up to 1,500kW. Read more. It’s gathered a lot of press, but the question I have is: do we need it? Many EVs currently on the road could never take on such speeds. Likewise, what sort of grid would that require, and at what cost? It’s great to see headlines that ‘you can charge a car as fast as filling up’, though it’s like hearing a Bugatti can go 304mph. It’s amazing. Though, will many of us ever be in one going that quickly... unlikely! The Guardian has an interesting editorial about BYD’s chargers here.

🔌 Speaking of Chinese charging... The Register reports that Chinese home charger maker ELECQ, which sells devices in the UK, was hacked. Read more.

💷 Elsewhere in EV charging... Islington Council has secured £1m to install 840 new chargers using LEVI money. Read more. Meanwhile, outside the M25 in Shropshire, the local council has secured £2m from the government to install 550 devices. Read more. [Note to self... is the above still EV chargers or EV equipment? Are miles now kilometres? Is it pounds or sovereigns? Is the Earth flat?]

👍 The House of Commons Library has put together a really helpful tool to track EV uptake by local authorities. See here.

🧰 The Lib Dems in Scotland have urged the Scottish Government to support EV drivers in Orkney who will no longer be covered by Tesco Insurance, due to a lack of local repair capacity. Read more.

🫢A study by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found that only 51% could correctly answer two or fewer out of 10 statements about EVs. This underlines the lack of knowledge amongst drivers at large. Read more.

🚗 As a reminder, tomorrow I will be at SMMT Electrified during the morning. I’m expecting to hear about the ‘Made in Europe’ rules that UK carmakers are worried about, such as Nissan, which said it could put its factory at risk. Anyway, drop me a note if you haven't already done so, if you want to meet up. I have to leave in the afternoon.

☹️ In other carmaker news, VW has said it intends to cut 50,000 roles due to scaling back its EV ambitions. Read more (paywall).

👉 Finally, if you have not already, you have a week until the eVED consultation closes. Find it here. If of interest, copied below is my recent take about the introduction of eVED (taken from the aforementioned WA Comms report).

See you next week!

By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Drop me an email