Following a recent report from Chargemaster, which estimates that there will be 200,000 electric cars on UK roads by the end of next year, Shell has announced the opening of Shell Recharge – the new on-forecourt Electric Vehicle (EV) rapid charging service.
The rapid chargers are said to be able to charge most cars in approximately 30 minutes and can be paid for simply and quickly by using a subscription-free mobile payment system.
The Shell Recharge service, which will soon be available at ten sites across the UK, will be welcome news to those with concerns about the apparent lack of EV charging points in the country. Shirley Rodrigues, the Deputy Mayor of Environment and Energy commented: “It is a great news that Shell is introducing electric vehicle charging points on its forecourts. With sales of diesel cars declining, it’s vital to have charging points for vehicles in service stations, car parks and on our streets.”
The locations of the first sites, which include areas of London, Kent, Surrey, Hertfordshire and Reading, have been chosen due to their proximity to main driving routes. Jane Lindsay-Green, UK Future Fuels Manager at Shell said: “We want to make sure we are positioning ourselves for the future. There’s no doubt the electric vehicle market is moving fast and we want to offer customers choice.”
So, what are the latest figures when it comes to the electric vehicle market in the UK? New car registrations statistics from the SMMT show that plug-in cars recorded the strongest year-on-year growth of any sector in the market, with plug-in hybrid registrations rising by 46.9% compared to October 2016 and pure electric cars showing the highest growth of all types of car, with registrations increasing by 70.6%.
David Martell, CEO of Chargemaster said: “By the end of the year, we estimate that there will be 200,000 electric cars on UK roads, rising to 500,000 by the end of 2020 and to one million by the end of 2022. Recent consumer research shows that the majority of people have already considered switching to an electric car, and the speed of adoption that we will see over the next five to 10 years could surprise many consumers, as well as a few industry pundits.”
The Zap-Map database reports that new charging points are being added daily, and the landscape of UK charging point infrastructure is continually changing. The latest statistics from Zap-Map show that the the number of public charging points has grown from 11,100 in January 2017 to 14,036 in November 2017; and that the number of charger locations has grown from 4,068 to 4,983 in the same period.
However, not everyone believes that this rapid market expansion will mean dramatic changes any time soon. Colin McKerracher, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance said: “I wouldn’t say it spells the end of the pump as we know it, but we are on the way to a world with a broader mix of vehicles on the road, and Shell are making a play to keep their stations relevant.”
And with a major name like Shell getting prepared for the future it may not be long until other fuel suppliers start to follow suit, and we could see a whole new wave of EV charging points at UK petrol stations.
Could you soon be stopping for a coffee at a petrol station while you wait for your car to charge?
Sources:
Vaughan, A. (2017). Shell to open electric vehicle charging points at UK petrol stations. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/18/shell-to-open-electric-vehicle-charging-points-at-uk-petrol-stations. Last accessed 22/11/2017.
Sourced from www.businesscar.co.uk. (2017). Chargemaster predicts 200,000 electric cars on UK roads by end of 2018. Available: http://www.businesscar.co.uk/news/2017/chargemaster-predicts-200,000-electric-cars-on-uk-roads-by-end-of-2018. Last accessed 22/11/2017.
Sourced from www.smmt.co.uk. (2017). October 2017 – EV registrations. Available: https://www.smmt.co.uk/2017/11/october-2017-ev-registrations/. Last accessed 22/11/2017.
Sourced from http://www.shell.co.uk. (2017). SHELL SWITCHES ON “SHELL RECHARGE” ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING SERVICE IN THE UK. Available: http://www.shell.co.uk/media/2017-media-releases/shell-switches-on-shell-recharge-electric-vehicle-charging-service-in-the-uk.html. Last accessed 22/11/2017.
Sourced from www.zap-map.com. (2017). CHARGING POINT STATISTICS 2017. Available: https://www.zap-map.com/statistics/. Last accessed 22/11/2017.