Survey: Are lamppost EV chargers 'often blocked'?
The latest news from Britain's EV sector
Hello, Happy Easter, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.
Top story in today’s edition… Nearly a third of all EV chargers in the UK are in lampposts. But a report in The Times this week suggested they were ‘often blocked’. I investigate if that’s true.
Elsewhere… Tesla records its biggest delivery drop since 2022, the FT asks if the sales drop is a blip or part of a bigger problem, and production of Renault’s pioneering Zoe ends.
Lastly, I apologise the last couple of these newsletters have arrived on Wednesday – next week’s will as well – but then normal Tuesday service should resume. As ever, if you have any thoughts or feedback, do get in touch via my contact details below or reply to this email.
Survey of 100 chargers sheds light on lamppost blocking
Background: In The Times yesterday, within a feature on EV charging, Asif Ghafoor, the CEO of network Be.EV, was reported as being ‘no fan of lamppost charging’ due to the low voltages and the fact that access to them is ‘often blocked’. Given lamppost chargers make up around a third of all EV chargers currently installed in the UK, and will no doubt continue to be important for people without driveways, I wanted to fact-check this opinion. Are lampposts getting blocked by non-EVs?
Summary: To get an understanding, given I live in the heart of Hammersmith – where the local council has carpet bombed 2,300+ lamppost chargers from SureCharge and ubitricity – I decided to survey 100 active chargers in the area near me. After spending some two hours in the pouring rain, here’s what I found…
58 out of 100 were accessible. This means the space on either side of the charger could be reached with a cable, even if a non-EV was slightly in the way.
42 were blocked. This means there would be no way for an EV owner to access the charger, even by stretching the cable a car length.
And only three out of the 58 had a reserved EV space. By this I mean only three had a car parking space next to the charger which was dedicated to it. Aka, non-EVs can’t use it.
Worrying? While you may read these figures thinking… christ, 42 out of 100 proves the statement true… there are some arguments to consider.
Firstly… even in the leafy residential streets of Hammersmith – home of Ocado deliveries and kitchen extensions – where many early EV adopters are likely to be, EVs are not commonplace yet - so the roads are still largely dominated by ICE vehicles. With lampposts, you have to remember that as more people transition, fewer and fewer will be blocked by non-EVs. Likewise, the lampposts being installed on the street will be a big confidence boost for many households considering a switch.
Secondly… I would presume that the average car owner in central London does fewer miles on average than their rural counterparts, so perhaps less regular need to charge up. And, if so, it’s not uncommon in urban areas to park a little bit further away from home.
However… it’s not all fine. It underlines how important having reserved spaces for EVs could be when councils deploy their on-street infrastructure – especially if councils and networks want to ensure their chargers are being used. Though, despite how cheap it is to paint a box, it’s not easy, and the government has taken a long time to review Traffic Regulation Orders – a very complicated name for the process of making changes to the road like adding these reserved spaces. Despite first consulting on speeding up the process in early 2022, DfT only published its response in January this year.
Sharing is caring… Another area this survey reveals is that, as more people transition, sharing these chargers will become ever more important. Often, on each street, there are just a handful of lampposts. While at the moment, where there’s often only a handful of EVs, that’s not a problem. However, speed forward a few years and there could be numerous households sharing chargers. There’s some thought needed on the best practice for handling that. Particularly if, as I found when relying on a lamppost, how to deal with someone who assumes, as a lamppost is outside their house, that it’s theirs.
About my survey: I reviewed lamppost chargers in the Hammersmith area, near Ravenscourt Park on Tuesday 2 April between 6.30-8PM (when I felt most people would be home/parked up). I surveyed the first 100 lampposts I came across. Obviously, not entirely scientific but certainly random. I ignored chargers that were broken (only one!) and counted those in use by an EV as ‘accessible’ (again, there was only one). The screenshot below covers the area/streets I walked.
Top EV news…
📉 Despite reporting its lowest quarter for sales since 2022, Tesla has at least reclaimed its crown from BYD, after outselling cars against the Chinese manufacturer. Read more.
🤔 Speaking of a sales slowdown, the Financial Times asks the question: what if the EV slowdown is not a blip? It’s tough but I think overall balanced opinion of some industry concerns. Read here (paywall – gift link for first clickers!).
🛣️ Elsewhere, The Times published a feature looking at whether the UK is running out of road on its EV ambitions. See here (paywall). It’s part of a four-part series – this article is the first, and the one mentioned in my main story is part 2.
💸 And on similar vibes, BYD is mulling bringing its ‘Seagull’ – a potentially £8,000 small EV – to the UK. If BYD does bring it here, and it probably won’t be as low as £8k, it will still be the cheapest EV available. Read more.
😲 Also in China, worth flagging that Xiaomi – I think most famous over here for their e-scooters – last week launched its first EV sedan to challenge Tesla’s Model 3. The ‘SU7’ reportedly was ordered 50,000 times in 27 minutes. Learn more.
🚢 Sorry, last China update I promise… A new analysis by Transport & Environment has found almost a fifth of EVs sold in Europe last year were made in China, and it looks set to reach 25% in 2024. Read more.
🔋 (Ok, I was lying). The CEO of the Chinese battery maker CATL last week dismissed how soon it would be until solid-state batteries were legitimate and used in EVs. Read more (paywall).
♻️ Talking of batteries, Auto Express visited a recycling company to answer the question of what happens to old EV battery packs in the UK. Find out here.
🆕 (Ruddy hell, there’s more). Chinese carmaker Geely is looking to bring its premium ‘Galaxy’ brand to the UK after teasing its E5 electric SUV before the Bejing motor show next month. Read more.
💵 Struggling EV start-up Fisker has cut the price for its Ocean SUV in an attempt to drum up demand. Read more. This comes after leaked data suggested 40,000 customers cancelled their orders.
👍 Nice review in the Daily Telegraph covering what it’s like to live with the teeny tiny Citroen Ami. Read more (paywall).
🔌 Installing pavement gullies for EV chargers is now available in Scotland, with Sterling Council launching a trial with Kerbo Charge.
♿ The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA) has called for the government to mandate accessibility requirements for EV chargers to safeguard disabled, elderly, and vulnerable people. Read more.
🚚 Fleet managers are said to be increasingly dealing with EV myths spread amongst employees, according to the Association of Fleet Professionals. Read more.
📗 Speaking of misinformation, at Everything Electric last week, the EV campaign FairCharge, alongside RAC and others, published a very helpful booklet tackling 21 EV myths. Handy for debates with boardroom executives all the way to the pub local.
🚒 Bad news, the BBC promoted a local story recently about how the Essex Fire Department is preparing to handle more EV fires. While the BBC could have written this story up a lot better, it does seem to be the fire departments fanning the flames of this story.
😇 Good news, I’ve noticed that there are a lot more positive headlines about EVs coming out from…. GB News! Story here about EV owners saving £1,000, an analysis on ‘whether it’s time to ditch petrol’, or even EV drivers boosting the value of their properties due to having chargers. Before you know it Farage will be driving to work in a Leaf!
🥺 Finally, it’s goodbye to the Renault Zoe. A pioneering EV that has been a gateway for many early adopters – and continues to be in the used market. The last one rolled off the production line in March. The Zoe was the first EV I drove and spent a lot of time in. I called mine Emmanuel, and it made me believe the transition was possible. I have fond memories of bombing around the country post-lockdown without a range worry in the world. Good times. Au revoir!
If you want to read more about the Zoe’s production ending, Autocar has a lovely piece here.
By Tom Riley | Check my Linktree for LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter
Excellent piece. Thank you. Mirrors my experience with Westminster council. Good work by the authority but questionable value for money when you can’t use because of permitted ICEing.