EVs have key role in tackling climate change in 2022

Otepoti - New homes in England will be required to have electric vehicle charging points by law, from 2022.

Globally, electric car sales grew 140 percent in the first quarter of 2021.

Publicly accessible chargers have grown sevenfold across Europe in the past five years.

But there is still a serious lack of charging points in most EU member states, according to European data.

Finding a way to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions is top of the agenda for most countries and many governments see electric cars as part of the solution.

Electric vehicles or EVs have an indispensable role to play in tackling climate change. There are already over 10 million electric cars on the world’s roads.

In the last quarter of 2021, about one in five New Zealand cars sold were EVs. The new clean car discount, with the government paying up to $8625 for a new EV has had a big bearing on a jump in EV sales.

As of September 30 last year, there were 32,780 electric vehicles on NZ roads, according to MoT data.

Meanwhile, the UK is the first country to introduce a law where new homes and buildings in England will be required to have electric vehicle charging points. It also includes new-build supermarkets, workplaces and buildings undergoing major renovations.

The installation of publicly accessible battery chargers across Europe has grown sevenfold in the past five years but only Italy, the Netherlands and France have delivered the number of charging points set by the EU.

Countries with the most chargers per 100km are the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Portugal and Austria.

To transition to electric vehicles, an estimated 290 million charging points will be required globally by 2040, according to the Alliance, and that would require a global investment of $500 billion.

Reasons for the slow uptake of electric vehicles vary between countries. A UK survey found the most common reason for not buying one was a lack of fast charging points, concerns about range and cost.

A study by Deloitte confirmed that the biggest consumer concerns about electric cars globally focus on driving range and the lack of charging points. But in China, 31 percent of those surveyed expressed worries about the safety of battery technology.