Bright future for EVs but road ahead is strewn with obstacles

The case for electric vehicles becomes ever more compelling, but several issues must be addressed before the UK is ready to make the transition, speakers warned at the Westminster Forum. Jack Semple reports

Jack Semple

26 October 2018

Philippa Oldham, Advanced Propulsion Centre: An obsession with the rapid charging of EVs could actually degrade the technology on the vehicle

Ross Fairley, Burges Salmon: Danger of backlash if people with EVs are seen to be benefitting from reduced purchase cost or subsidised grid upgrades paid for by everyone

Electric vehicles have a great future in the UK – but there is a long way to go, with plenty of risks, and this month’s Budget could be a setback. That was the gist of a Westminster Forum conference on the Government’s Road to Zero strategy held earlier this month.

Chair Helen Goodman MP, who has Sunderland’s Nissan plant in her constituency, set the tone. She contrasted the Labour Party’s new commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 with her own “not...