Berkeley Square, London, 2008. Parking bay after parking bay occupied by electric cars recharging in one of central London's most prestigious squares.
What happened? The government plugged-in car grant excluded the highly successful G-Wiz quadricycle and this sent out a signal that these city vehicles were not supported. What happened as a result? These low cost (less than GBP 10,000) electric vehicles were no longer imported and demand died, because private motorists did not want to pay £25,000 instead for the alternatives from Nissan, Mitsubishi, Citroen and Peugeot.
The UK government are consulting in preparation for development of the next EV and EV infrastructure strategy. Perhaps this time the focus will be on affordability of EVs, coupled with guaranteed access to a charge point for residents.
In my opinion, this is the key to unlocking low carbon transport in cities.
