Results: National governments should be responsible for EV infrastructure

27 April 2018

National governments should be responsible for building the electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure across Europe according to readers of Autovista Group’s Daily News Brief.

However, in a surprise second place, respondents to the weekly survey suggested electricity companies should be solely responsible, suggesting a potential shift in the balance of power in fuel strategies, as the automotive technology develops.

With vehicle manufacturers pushing to develop their EV strategies, in order to combat falling diesel sales and rising CO2 levels, the biggest challenge to overcome is the infrastructure of charging points, which are still sporadic, despite investment over the last few years.

Various stories have suggested that government, local authorities, carmakers and oil companies are all looking to fund the installation of charge points at various locations, but who should be taking the lead in this procedure.

Autovista Group Daily Brief readers felt the sole responsibility should fall with national governments, with 47% of respondents suggesting countries should look to unlock funds and develop a network to allow drivers to charge vehicles without the need to search or wait.

However, 33% of respondents to the survey felt that sole responsibility should rest with electricity companies. Those in charge of their country’s national grids will play a big part in any future infrastructure, having to ensure the network is capable of being supplied and not overloading power systems. With just 2% saying responsibility should rest with oil companies, who may want to keep customers as they move from non-oil based products, this suggests that with a new era in EV technology could come a new supplier structure.

Making development the responsibility of vehicle manufacturers was the thought of 9% of those who answered the survey. Currently, a number of manufacturers are getting involved, creating ventures, such as the Ionity project, to build a fast-charging network across the continent. However, with so much to do on building the vehicles in the first place, adding additional resources to build charging stations would be time-consuming.

Local councils and municipal authorities also drew 9% of respondents, with a majority of readers not thinking that it is down to them to instigate planning and budget for such locations.

Governments are starting to wake up to the idea of electric vehicles, however, while they are pushing drivers away from diesel and into greener alternatives, there is still much to be done to make the technology a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine.