Carmakers and networks battle over mandate’s future
Plus, can we make new charge point rules simpler for small businesses?
Hello, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.
Top story today… As the first year of the ZEV mandate starts to close, carmakers and networks begin to publicly battle over its future.
Elsewhere… Trump, tariffs, and with new public charge point rules coming into force this month, I ask if we need a ‘lite’ version for small businesses.
As ever, if you have any thoughts, please do get in touch via my contact details below or simply reply to this email.
Tensions run high between networks and carmakers
Summary: As we approach the end of the first year of the ZEV mandate at 22%, numerous (and inevitable) media reports have started to pop up lately about how carmakers are cutting prices to shift their electric cars. It started last week after the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed booming EV registration figures. This was, rightly, celebrated by many, though carmakers have cautioned that, under the ZEV mandate, it’s only going to get harder, in a more difficult trading environment. See The Sunday Times (paywall) or Daily Mail for details on price cutting.
Clearly… while cuts are positive for consumers, price slashing is not economical for the margins of manufacturers long-term, particularly in a world where global trade could be very different in six months. Likewise, since the recent Budget, it seems many Brits will likely remain acutely price-conscious for longer. So, I have sympathy for anyone trying to make and sell cars.
But… this messaging line in the media rides counter to the carmaker’s previous pleas for grants to support new drivers. And, even today, that messaging continues to linger in its output. Perhaps it’s time for carmakers to correct that and admit they might need manufacturing subsidies; because the driver angle is not working on OZEV officials.
May Day… To further demonstrate this point; back in Spring when I spoke to ex-Top Gear and Grand Tour presenter James May, given he used one of the early plug-in grants, I asked whether he believed in bringing it back for drivers. He was not for it. In fact, he said: “I mean, in reality, it's a handout to the industry, isn't it? It's not really to the owner. I'd be slightly wary of it.”
Making their case harder… Further data from SMMT last week found second-hand EV sales have boomed 57% as well. This is the result of more affordable prices for “middle-aged” EVs, according to Ian Plummer from Auto Trader.
Following lots of coverage about this… last week the CEO of SMMT Mike Hawes shared a blog that cast questions about its positive statistics and concluded that a “challenge persists in both the new car and light commercial vehicle markets.” He added that with “the cost of manufacturing EVs remaining stubbornly high, industry cannot successfully or indefinitely plug the gap.” As a result, Mike concluded a “suitably ambitious intervention by government to match industry’s investment is, therefore, essential.” And what does that look like in SMMT’s eyes? Mike has suggested three things: private consumer incentives… mandating charger rollout… and making public charging more affordable.
Spooked… The strength and tone from some carmakers to media, especially by its trade association, is worrying charging networks, who collectively have billions of investment on the line if the ZEV mandate is changed. They also feel wrongly beaten, as they have continued to grow the UK’s charging network. On Thursday, the industry group ChargeUK shared a statement from its CEO Vicky Read, saying: “It’s been a week to celebrate clear, undeniable progress towards a greener transport future in the UK. New EV sales have risen by 24%, with second hand EV sales up 57%. Despite this, today we have seen renewed calls from car manufacturers for the Government to weaken the regulations that underpin this growth… Now is the time for Government to hold its nerve, not to mess about with regulations that are doing their job.”
Officials pick a side… When Vicky shared her statement on LinkedIn, it was ‘liked’ by several senior Department for Transport civil servants – including Bob Moran, Deputy Director of Decarbonisation Strategy, and James Vickery, Head of ZEV Regulations. The same can’t be said for Mike’s post. But it is also not the first time officials have entered the public debate lately.
In October… before the Budget, major carmakers sent a joint letter to the Chancellor about the need for new incentives and support. And an array of critical news articles followed. Some stories included figures suggesting diesel registrations bouncing back. In response, Richard Bruce, the government’s Director of Transport Decarbonisation, took to LinkedIn himself to question the reporting of SMMT’s figures.
The challenge is… LinkedIn and what officials ‘like’ does not equal the same against a government trying to make millions happy, especially with the media. And one unknown still on the table is when and what the government will do about meeting its 2030 manifesto pledge. As I understand it, there is still an ‘imminent’ plan for a public consultation. However, an industry source laughed at that word, suggesting Whitehall ‘does not know what that means’.
Where does it leave us? With my ex-Civil Service Press Officer hat on… given later this month, the new charge point regulations come in, Starmer’s uplifting of climate targets at COP29, and even little things like the latest EV charger figures getting released soon… situationally, about now is probably as good a time as any. Let’s see. On an unrelated note, Gladiator 2 is released tomorrow.
Overcomplicated and unfair: Do we need charge point ‘lite’ regulations?
Background: There was a news story this week featuring a man who makes “£1,000” a month renting out EV chargers in his parking spaces. Multiple apps offer this, and I hate to question them – because in the early days, they were critically useful – but I’m a little surprised to see, under the incoming public charger requirements, they are specifically exempt.
Under the guidance… it states exempt chargers include those “located on a private driveway which is made available for peer-to-peer charging.” I understand why they’d rather not overcomplicate matters by making ‘side hustlers’ have contactless payment terminals and requirements to submit quarterly reports etc. However… if that is DfT’s view, then I’m finding it increasingly hard to understand why certain businesses WILL need to follow all the rules. Here’s two potentially impacted groups…
1. Schools… As I already reported earlier this year, DfT confirmed any schools, colleges, and nurseries wanting to install EV chargers to make some cash from their use will need to follow the regulations. To me, this is going to make already thinly resourced teachers turn off the idea of applying for its ‘EV charger school grant’ - when, actually, their sites could act as accessible hubs, especially in towns and cities.
2. Small businesses… Charge points located in privately-owned car parks to which the public has access fall under the rules. The examples given by DfT to demonstrate are a ‘supermarket, hotel car parks, and those at service areas’. However, at the small business end, that would surely mean everything from a campsite, and farm shop to a coastal café could face lots of admin just by offering a very simple service: a socket and some electricity.
Cut the tape… I’m being incisive, but while these incoming regulations are going to work well for established businesses in the know, to me they look like a headache for someone trying to sell sausage baps from a shed or coffee by the beach. Let’s be frank, after a long day, I think most of us would rather sip wine and watch some bonking in Rivals than try to work out what the ‘OCPI protocol’ is.
👉 It’s my view that we need a ‘Lite’ or ‘Entry’ version of these regulations, perhaps for qualifying small businesses and individuals. And certainly to prevent any unfair fines from appearing in the long run. Agree or disagree? Drop me a line, comment, or share.
Trump, tariffs, and what it means
Last week… Trump was elected the next President of the United States. Naturally, this has caused a lot of concern, especially in Europe, about what it may mean for the EV transition more widely, especially on tariffs. I need to do more reading, but my present view is… let’s not forget that Biden was also very ‘protective’ in his approach, so how much more of a dial move can Trump move? At least Trump has Musk in his ear and, er, other places – perhaps not as bad as people want to believe.
Importantly… It’s refreshing to see the UK snapping at this open goal and moving fast to fill the ‘vacuum’ that has emerged on global climate leadership – with the Prime Minister becoming the star player at COP29 yesterday.
Anyway… for a better understanding of Trump and trade, here’s a cheeky ‘plug’ for my Pagefield colleague John Alty – formerly the UK’s most senior civil servant leading trade policy – who has written up a helpful blog on what it all means. Read here.
Other EV bites…
🏆 This morning Zapmap has released its seventh annual rankings of major charging networks. Tesla was added this year, and came out top in the driver survey - even though only 51% of its network is open to the public. Check the leaderboard here.
🚗 Lotus revealed they were making 200 roles redundant at the end of last week due to a lack of demand. Read more.
📰 Over the weekend, The Times* published a feature by its Transport Correspondent who drove from Land’s End to John O’Groats in an EV. It was predominantly positive bar the usual caveats – such as who the hell EVER does this journey normally. *paywall
🔌 As The Times suggests in their piece, the number of chargers in Cornwall has grown by 63% to more than 750 by September 2024, according to a recent BBC report. That’s good news as the region has often been seen as a bit of a blank spot – despite the huge tourist trade. Read more.
🏴 On the other side of the UK… a local councillor in the Highlands got some press this week after managing to succeed in a complaint about a Highland Council electric van – which was left at a public charger for more than a month! The van in question was fined by local wardens but it still took the council ages to move it. Read more.
💸 And speaking of Scotland, First Minister John Swinney last week announced £6.3m to fund 3,500 chargers in Glasgow and Ayrshire. Read more.
📚 An important story in Auto Express about charge points that are accessible for disabled EV owners. Readers may recall my feature on this earlier in Summer (below). It seems since my report, Labour (like the Tories) has thrown the can down the road on making PAS 1899 mandatory.
🚩 Similarly, a different kind of accessibility story in Lancashire last week. The local council is the latest to launch a trial for cross-pavement charging solutions. However, while extremely positive, the council has dubbed the new gullies… ‘cable trays’. That’s an ick!
⛴️ Portsmouth has appointed Zest to lead its EV efforts with plans to add more than 300 chargers during 2025. Read more.
🍺 Elsewhere, charging network Be.EV has signed a partnership with pub group JW Lees in a £1.8m deal. Read more.
🧑💼 The EV Association for England has started recruiting for its next Chief Executive. Learn more.
🚂 I rarely get to feature rail in this newsletter, though the BBC has a good write-up all about battery-powered trains and their safety. See here.
🙋 This week, the House of Commons Committee on Energy Security and Net Zero, Chaired by Bill Esterson MP, has launched its first two inquiries. One is taking evidence on clean energy skills. The other covers community energy.
⚡️ Speaking of energy, the regulator Ofgem has recently asked for feedback on proposed changes to electricity distribution price controls. This comes amongst wider consultations, meetings, and messaging from the industrial sector that lots of urgent reform is needed to make clean energy by 2030 successful, such as on standing charges. Read more.
🙏 Lastly, I’m pleased to say this newsletter should now be back on a weekly timetable – on a Wednesday. Thanks to the huge numbers of you who continually check-in on me. I’m not out of the woods yet but I’ve got far too many interesting stories in my inbox. See you next week!
wrt small business chargers, most are under the 8kW threshold. Of the remainder, I have yet to encounter one that isn't using the charger supplier's software and payment platform, which should allow them to easily meet the regulations without knowing anything about OCPI.