Lords Report Urges Immediate Government Action to Boost Electric Vehicle Adoption

A customer prepares to charge his Tesla electric vehicle after parking in a bay for electric vehicles at a supermarket in north London on Nov. 18, 2020. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images)

A report released on Tuesday by the House of Lords has highlighted the need for the government to urgently address obstacles hindering the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

The report, titled “EV strategy: rapid recharge needed,” points to the high cost of purchasing EVs, a lack of charging infrastructure, and confusing messages as key factors deterring potential electric vehicle owners, as stated by members of the Environment and Climate Change Committee.

To boost consumer confidence in moving away from petrol and diesel vehicles, the committee put forward several suggestions. Among these is the proposal to encourage the purchase of pre-owned EVs by establishing an industry-wide standard for evaluating the condition and expected battery degradation.

The report also calls for the acceleration of EV charging infrastructure deployment, suggesting that current regulations are outdated and contribute to delays. Furthermore, it highlighted the need to combat “misinformation” surrounding electric vehicles. It added the warning that “EVs are more expensive to buy than their petrol and diesel equivalents,” and there is an “insufficient range of affordable EVs.”

“The UK’s surface transport emits more CO2 than any other sector, with passenger cars accounting for more than half of these emissions,” said Baroness Parminter, chair of the inquiry. She emphasised the urgency for government action to promote EV adoption, warning of the missed opportunities for improved air quality and delayed progress in addressing climate change if the recommendations are ignored.

UKIP Frontrunner Calls for Plans to Be Dropped

UKIP leadership frontrunner Lois Perry, who is director of Car26, a research group dedicated to self-styled climate realism, told The Epoch Times that government plans for the introduction of EVs need “disconnecting,” not “recharging.”

Ms. Perry said: “The two fundamental problems for the corrupt mainstream consensus are one, that CO2 emissions are not harmful and they know it, and two, efforts to replace real cars with EVs are doomed anyway.

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“EVs cannot solve this invented problem—there just aren’t enough resources in the world to make the number of EVs required, nor the money available to subsidise them enough, nor the electricity to charge them, nor the chargers! It’s all a fantasy.

“Rationing private travel, the only logical ’solution,' would cause a revolution, but not a green one!”

Purchase Incentives Taken to Task

The Lords committee’s findings indicate that the initial cost of EVs, including used models, remains a significant hurdle for consumers. It criticised the government’s decision to remove purchase incentives as “premature” and pointed to comments made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which seemed to focus on the challenges of achieving net zero without emphasising the benefits, as an example of the mixed messaging that needs to be addressed.

The report claims: “The evidence we received shows the Government must do more – and quickly – to get people to adopt EVs. If it fails to heed our recommendations, the UK won’t reap the significant benefits of better air quality and will lag in the slow lane for tackling climate change.”

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported that the UK saw its millionth pure battery electric vehicle registration in January, but noted that the market’s growth is heavily reliant on business and fleet purchases. The organisation urged the Treasury to consider reducing VAT on new EVs in the upcoming Budget.

Climate researcher and analyst Ben Pile told The Epoch Times: “The Lords’ ECC Committee is doubling down on the policies that it acknowledges are a failure. Despite subsidies, sales target mandates, taxes, and other interventions, EVs are failing to convince consumers. This is because EVs are not preferable to petrol and diesel powered vehicles, either in terms of their performance or price.”

‘Green Lords’ Criticised

Mr. Pile added: “The green lords believe that they know better than the consumers, and that more policies are required to force people to make the decisions the Lords wish them to make. If the Lords cannot understand that the public do not share their green ideological preoccupations, then it is the Lords that need to go, not the policies that need to be ’recharged'.

“This tone-deaf missive to the government comes as another British-based EV venture goes bust, and that shows us just how out of touch they are. The longer their continued intransigence continues, the more they will drag us into a conflict with reality.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “After more than a decade of government grants and tax incentives, the number of electric cars on our roads has significantly increased, with over a million now on UK roads.

“We are continuing to support the switch to electric with more than £2 billion, seeing a 45 percent increase in public charge points since January last year, putting us on track to install 300,000 public charge points by 2030.

“This week alone we have made charge points more accessible, with the first councils starting to receive part of the £381 million local electric vehicle infrastructure fund alongside new grants to install charge points in state schools and nurseries.”