Workplace charge points funded by DfT grant up 50%

The number of workplace charge points funded by Government has increased by almost 51% year-on-year, according to new data published by the Department for Transport (DfT) today (Wednesday, December 14). 

The new figures show that in the previous 12 months, up to October 1, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) awarded 5,909 vouchers, worth £5.1 million, to firms through the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), helping to install 15,075 electric vehicle (EV) charging devices.   

The WCS is a voucher-based scheme designed to provide eligible organisations with support towards the upfront costs of the purchase and installation of EV charge points.

If an application is successful, applicants are issued with a unique identification voucher, which can then be redeemed to install multiple charging devices. 

Since the scheme started in late 2016, a total of 13,603 vouchers worth £13.8m have been redeemed, helping to pay for 36,317 workplace charge points.

The South-East had the highest uptake with 5,308 devices have installed, while Wales and Northern Ireland had the lowest, 1,376 and 686 respectively.

Together, Wales and Northern Ireland accounted for 5.7% of total charge points installed under the WCS in the UK.

When comparing the regional distribution per 100,000 of the population, London had the smallest number of workplace charge point installations in the UK with 25 WCS installations per 100,000.

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland also had fewer WCS installations than any English region except London.

A recent YouGov survey suggested that workplace charging for EVs was not available to more than half (52%) of drivers

The research, commissioned by EV charging platform Monta, also revealed that 82% of these drivers expressed a desire to charge their EV at their place of work if it was available. 

A poll by Fleet News, meanwhile, showed a similar split, with 46% not having access to a workplace charger.

The DfT has also published new figures for grants received by local authorities for residential charge point devices – read more here.

New data for DfT funding of domestic charge points has also been published today – read more here.