Our Policy Priorities

At EVA England, our EV policy priorities are shaped by EV drivers.

Our policy positions reflect the real-world challenges faced by EV drivers and we advocate for a fair, accessible, and affordable EV transition that works for everyone.

Our work is informed by regular engagement with our members, including surveys, workshops, and direct feedback. We use this evidence to influence government policy, shape industry standards, and raise public awareness, ensuring drivers’ needs are at the heart of the transition.

Most recently, we surveyed over 450 EV, hybrid, petrol, and diesel drivers to inform our ZEV Mandate Consultation response. Their insights confirmed that upfront cost, availability and access to public charging infrastructure, and concerns about the emerging divide between those who are able to charge on their driveways and those who cannot, persist as major barriers to the transition.

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Below are the key EV policy areas where we are actively campaigning for change:

EVA England’s 2023 survey found that the most represented income bracket among EV drivers was £50,000–£75,000. And whilst the 2024 iteration of the survey saw increased representation among the next income bracket down, only 6% of respondents reported an income of £25,000 or less.

The new electric car grant (£3,750 or £1,500 off the recommended retail price of cars below £37,000) will support buyers on the new car market. However, with the upfront cost of EVs still 23% higher than their ICE counterparts, there remains a continued risk that lower-income households are excluded from the transition to zero-emission vehicles if parallel support is not given to the used car market.

We are asking the Government to:

Consider a scheme to help lower-income householders access lower-cost EVs, particularly on the used car market. Social leasing, or low or zero-interest loan schemes, have been found to work well elsewhere, and existing platforms such as the National Wealth Fund or British Business Bank could play a role in delivering such a scheme.
Accelerate plans to translate and apply the UNECE battery standard in the UK, and provide interim guidance to consumers and businesses on measuring battery health, so that all drivers can access the information they need to decide on their next used EV purchase.
Consider including measurements of battery health as part of a vehicle’s MOT.

EVs are still more expensive than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, with a recommended retail price (RRP) that is currently on average 23% higher than that of ICE vehicles (and 35% just a year ago).

There are a number of taxation measures we are asking the Government to consider to address the high upfront cost of EVs and tackle one of the biggest barriers to greater uptake of these vehicles:

Encourage greater uptake of salary sacrifice through making it a condition of receipt of Government chargepoint grants, and mandating all large and medium companies to offer a scheme that allows access to new and used EVs.
Give industry and consumers sight of future Benefit-in-Kind rates during the transition period.
Extend the suspension of the Expensive Car Tax Supplement for EVs.

Charging costs at public charging points are considerably higher compared to private charging and vary enormously depending on the type of charging point. Overall, the average cost of home charging is 32p per kWh and 51p per kWh for a public slow charger or 76p per kWh for a public fast charger.

This substantial difference in costs generates an inequitable charging divide, where those households with a driveway are able to benefit from the potential for EVs to be cheaper to run than their ICE counterparts, and those without a driveway pay more to run their EV than their old ICE car.

Unless this charging divide is addressed, there is a substantial risk that certain groups of consumers will bear a disproportionate cost of the transition to EVs.

We are therefore asking the Government to:

Reduce VAT on public charging points in line with the 5% rate on domestic electricity supply; and ensure bringing down the cost of EV charging is central to wider reform to tackle electricity pricing.
Promote greater uptake of cross-pavement technologies by simplifying the application and consent process for installers and local authorities; reducing the costs for residents of installation; and providing adequate guidance on how local authorities can support residents through the process of applying for a cross-pavement solution.
Restructure and extend the workplace charging scheme to make it available to a greater number of state-funded institutions (e.g. schools, NHS sites) and more affordable for small and medium-sized companies, so that more people can access affordable, slower charging options away from home.

We are also asking the industry to consider options that reduce public charging costs for residents, for example, through dynamic pricing, which makes it cheaper to charge at certain times of day.

Availability of charging infrastructure, and a perception that it is too difficult to use, are still prevailing concerns amongst drivers who have not yet made the switch to electric.

There is an increasing number of public chargepoints, with 27% growth last year and over 82,000 nationwide. However, it is hard to find them, with planning and regulatory barriers currently preventing clear signposting.

Moreover, none are fully compliant with accessibility standards, meaning drivers with disabilities are in danger of being excluded from the transition. And the associated payment processes are one of the single biggest sources of frustration for EV drivers, with complaints continuing around the need to use multiple apps, lack of pricing transparency, and price shocks around pre-authorisations and high charging costs. The regulations to tackle these exist, but their rollout and enforcement need to accelerate to keep pace with the electric vehicle transition.

Add to that the number of residents who rent or lease their properties and are refused permission to install chargers by their landlords and freeholders, then access to charging continues to be a major barrier to making the switch for many.

We are asking the Government to:

Accelerate the rollout of the revised PAS 1899 standard and take powers to mandate it so that chargepoints going in the ground today meet that minimum accessibility standard.
Move to legislate to grant tenants and leaseholders an automatic right to request the installation of a charge point in dwellings with off-street parking.
Remove the regulatory barriers to rolling out EV signage and include the provision of adequate signage as a condition for receipt of its chargepoint funds through the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund.
Monitor and report on the roll out of the Public Chargepoint Regulations so that we see greater compliance with rules around reliability, pricing transparency and provision of roaming facilities across the industry. And consider further steps to simplify the payment process for consumers for chargepoints under 8kW.

At EVA England, our EV policy priorities are shaped by EV drivers.

Below are the key EV policy areas where we are actively campaigning for change:

Enhanced support for a lower cost EV market, including a stronger used EV market

Taxation as a tool to address upfront cost

Tackling the charging divide

Improving access to charging