By
15th Feb 2022

2021 was another big year for the world of electric vehicles (EVs) and the charging infrastructure that goes along with them. Not only did we launch our own CPC Electrical Vehicle Charging Point framework, which has already helped members to install charging points on their sites, but big milestones were reached on electric vehicle sales and charge point installations nationally. 

Government grants for some electric vehicles are changing and there have been announcements regarding new EV charger installations. Therefore, we have produced the following summary of these changes with an insight into what this year could hold for the marketplace.  

Change to government grants 

We will start with the main one, which is the change to government grants available when you purchase an electric vehicle. This is different for the various classes of vehicle which we have shown below. 

Electric cars – grant changing from £2,500 to £1,500 and only available to vehicles priced under £32,000. 

Wheelchair accessible electric vehicles – retaining £2,500 grant and a £35,000 vehicle price. 

Plug-in vans – grants for large vans are £5,000 and £2,550 for small vans. Each business, organisation or individual may receive up to a limit of 1,000 Plug-in van grants per financial year (1st April – 31st March).  

Whilst the amount you can get on grants has in some cases gone down, this is to focus on supporting the public buying vehicles which will be more likely in budget and extend the time the grant can be offered. 

The grants for installing vehicle changing points under the workplace charging scheme (WCS) have not changed and is still £350 per socket, up to 40 sockets per applicant, meaning a potential investment of up to £14,000.  

Electric vehicle (EV) sales 

The sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have also continued to see a massive ramp up over the course of last year. In May 2021, the UK surpassed 250,000 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and over 270,000 petrol hybrid electric vehicles, (PHEVs) meaning there is now over half a million plug-in vehicles on the road! 

As of November 2021, the percentage of new vehicles sold with a plug was almost 30%, showing that 2022 could be a big time for people to make the switch to some form of electric power. 

Car makers are also lowering the prices of their electric vehicle offerings, making them more attainable to everyone and move in line with the new grants. So this could be another area to look out for in 2022 as more electric vehicles will make their way to UK roads. 

Electric charging points 

This was another area which saw a big change over the course of last year and an area which will have a big target focus going into 2022. 

The UK last year surpassed 25,000 electric vehicle chargers in 16,000 locations throughout the UK with over 45,000 connectors across the sites. This is a big step forward to where the infrastructure needs to be to cope with the future demand when people move over to electric vehicles. 

One announcement by the government however in November 2021 that will make 2022 a very big year for charging infrastructure, is that all new homes, buildings such as supermarkets and workplaces, as well as buildings undergoing major renovation will be required to install EV charging points on site. 

The new government regulations should see up to 145,000 extra charge points installed across England over the course of a year, which will mean there is going to be a big increase in demand and potentially prices. 

Clean air zones 

Another area to consider is the upcoming Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZ) and Clean Air Zones, that will be coming into service in the coming year. One main clean air zone that is coming into effect in May 2022 is the one covering all of the Greater Manchester region. This is designed to help lower emissions in the area and will only apply in the first instance to commercial vehicles which do not meet emission standards However, be cautious that this will change over time and other vehicles such as cars, bikes and vans may be included.  

Other areas also have ULEZ and Clean Air Zones already in place and these are detailed below. 

London - has had a Low Emission Zone since 2008, covering the Greater London area, and introduced the UK's first Ultra Low Emission Zone in 2020, which covers the same area as the congestion charge zone. 

Bath - introduced a Clean Air Zone in March 2021. 

Birmingham - brought in its Clean Air Zone on 1 June 2021. 

Brighton - has had a Low Emission Zone in place since 2015, but it currently only applies to local buses. 

Norwich - Clean Air Zone currently only applies to local buses. 

Oxford - started charging drivers of non-compliant vehicles in its Zero Emission Zone in August 2021.  

Portsmouth - introduced a Clean Air Zone in November 2021. 

In summary, there has been some changes recently with funding and both legislatively and strategically in the electric vehicle sector and the outlook for the year ahead also looks to be an exciting one as we move towards a more sustainable world. 

 

We hope that this article has been useful in showing you what 2022 may hold for the electric vehicle charging point and vehicle buying sectors. The year ahead looks to be a big one for the whole industry where more major milestones will be hit and CPC looks forward to supporting our members with their opportunities. 

If you would like more information regarding the grants that are available to you both for charging points and plug-in vehicles, please see the following links to the relevant government webpages.  

Grants for low-emission vehicles: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-grants-for-low-emission-vehicles 

Grants for plug-in vehicles: https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants/overview 

If you want to discuss any of the information above or find out more about the Electrical Vehicle Charging Point framework please do not hesitate to get in touch with Contract Manager Myles Woodman at [email protected] or on 0161 974 0945.