Many jobs require electrical training, but one that will have high demand for such skills is the installation and maintenance of electric vehicle chargers, as more of these will be needed to persuade motorists to switch away from petrol and diesel.
A common reason cited by some motorists for being reluctant to switch to electric is the phenomenon known as ‘range anxiety’, which is the fear that the battery might run flat without there being a charger close to hand.
Despite the number of chargers across the UK continually increasing, the latest government survey, which was completed in April and has just been published, shows that range anxiety has been increasing.
How Happy Are Motorists With EV Charger Provision In The UK?
The survey, the second edition of the Electric Vehicle (EV) driver behaviours and attitudes tracker, found that:
- Only 58 per cent of drivers were confident of making long-distance journeys in ECVs, down from 64 per cent last year.
- Satisfaction with local area charger availability was barely changed, at 53 per cent compared with 52 per cent a year ago.
- Satisfaction with motorway service station charger availability was slightly down, from 59 per cent to 57 per cent
- Satisfaction with EV charger provision on A roads was also down slightly, from 50 per cent to 48 per cent.
- Just under half of drivers (47 per cent) agreed there are enough charge points
How Many EV Chargers Are There Across Britain?
The above findings may seem odd when one considers the rising number of public EV chargers now available. Government statistics published in June, based on figures from Zapmap, revealed that:
- As of June 1st this year, there were 121,171 chargers across the UK
- This compares with 116,052 on January 1st and 110,132 on July 1st last year.
- The number of chargers in England passed 100,000 for the first time in May this year.
- In the north-west, the tally has risen to 8,676, compared with 7,804 a year ago.
It may fairly be argued, therefore, that the growing public perception of range anxiety is at odds with the figures.
Nonetheless, as long as this is a common view, the sight of more new chargers appearing by major roads and at motorway service stations in particular may make a difference to the perceptions of motorists keen to switch but worried about charger provision.
That is not the only reason that more EDV chargers are needed.
Why Will More EV Chargers Be Needed In the Future?
As more motorists take up EVs, the need for increased charger provision will inevitably be greater. In this case, it will be a matter of capacity: although there may be many places with chargers, there may need to be a lot more chargers at each point to avoid queues.
The Zapmap data noted that the UK’s chargers were spread across 46,731 locations, which works out at 2.59 chargers per location. If more than three cars want to use them at any one time, someone will be left waiting.
In order to solve this issue, either more chargers can be added to existing stations, or the number of stations will need to be increased, ensuring ample provision all over the country. Either way, more qualified installers will be required to get them all in place.