The North West is lagging behind most of the UK, when it comes to EV charging. It currently has 4,641 public charging points, which according to government figures equates to just 53 chargers per 1,000 people – lower than most of the UK and a quarter of the London figure.

The overall total of 65,000 public electric- vehicle charging means there is just one public charger per 600 of the 40 million registered cars, trucks, buses and the like. If Labour follows through on its plan to reintroduce the ban on new diesel and petrol cars by 2030, people in the wider North West region who don’t have a home charger are going to be in a very awkward position. That’s unless rapid action is taken by government and business.

Opening up EV charging to staff and local residents

Some business car parks already have a few EV charging units. But there’s huge potential to expand this in a cost-effective way. A 22kW charger can power-up a car in less than four hours. Installing a good number on your premises opens up the possibility of owning an electric car to staff who find it difficult to have an EV charger at home, perhaps because they live in a flat or a terraced house with no drive.

You could also make your chargers available to the wider community, asking less than the normal 55 and 79p per kilowatt for public chargers but enough to cover the £1,500 cost of the unit – and perhaps earning a profit. Buying an electric car is no longer out of reach for many people – the new Dacia model will be priced at £15,000 – so if your business installs public units, you open up EV ownership to thousands of people, particularly if your premises are in a town centre or near a housing estate. You don’t need to worry about the units being misused either. Good payment units have software that prevent apps bypassing them and getting power for free.

For businesses who are perhaps wary of letting their equipment be used by anyone, there’s another way of improving the UK infrastructure. Allowing other companies, perhaps with large lorries or van delivery fleets, to use your chargers can generate extra revenue or perhaps lead to a quid pro quo agreement where you can access some of their facilities.

Companies with influence or involvement in housing and retail development should push to make sure new projects always include as many chargers as possible. Housing developers now include units for new homes with drives. But it’s important that the business sector urges building firms, councils and town planners to have adequate numbers of EV chargers installed when any new estate is built or when a shopping centre or high street is created or revamped.

But a truly comprehensive EV charging infrastructure will only be established in the North West and the country, if there is more central government funding. The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) provides up to three quarters of the financial outlay of installing up to 40 sockets at a business. This is complemented by the Infrastructure Grant. The WCS is capped at £350 per socket and the infrastructure grant is capped at £500 per car parking space. So installing a 22kW AC charger is a big initial cost commitment for a business, never mind a DC charger.

Labour has said it will fast-forward the introduction of the delayed Rapid Charging Fund. But at £950 million, even combined with the £450 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund for councils, it is nowhere near enough to allow local authorities and other organisations to install the amount of EV chargers needed. Businesses and their representative organisations must see it as a high priority to lobby government for new money. This includes funds to boost the capacity of the National Grid to cope with the hugely increased  demand that more EV charging will bring.

The North West needs to do much more to create the sustainable transport system it needs. Business can and should take a lead in propelling the region forward.

Tom Bloor, is the Managing Director of Manchester EV-charger company evec, based in Salford, evec supplies and installs a wide range of commercial and domestic EV chargers to the general public, organisations and businesses.