Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to increase the number of electric car charging points; and if he will make it his policy to ensure that charging points are universal so that they are compatible with all electric vehicles.

The UK has been a global front-runner in supporting provision of charging infrastructure along with private sector investment. Our vision is to have one of the best infrastructure networks in the world for electric vehicles, and we want chargepoints to be accessible, affordable and secure.

We will invest £1.3 billion in accelerating the roll out of charging infrastructure over the next four years, targeting support on rapid chargepoints on motorways and major roads, and installing more on-street chargepoints near homes and workplaces, to make charging as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car. Later this year, we will publish our Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy and introduce new regulations under the Automated Electric Vehicles Act (2018) to improve the consumer experience of public charging.

We are seeing a natural progression towards Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors for rapid charging. All new EV models use Type 2 connectors for slower charging. Under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulations 2017 (AFIR) all public chargepoints are required to have at minimum a Type 2 connector, and, for rapid charging, a CCS connector. Over 96% of rapid chargepoints also have a CHAdeMO connector installed in addition to the required CCS.