Lost in translation: EU’s EV charging target for UK is mistaken, says DfT

The European Commission proposes mandatory targets for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in a draft Directive on alternative fuels. But the DfT says targets are unnecessary and that the UK target is anyway based on a fundamental misunderstanding. It may not rank among the biggest of disputes between Brussels and Westminster but the European Commission’s draft Directive on alternative fuels released last month has certainly ruffled a few feathers in Whitehall.

Andrew Forster

08 February 2013

It may not rank among the biggest of disputes between Brussels and Westminster but the European Commission’s draft Directive on alternative fuels released last month has certainly ruffled a few feathers in Whitehall.

If the Commission’s proposals become law, the UK will have to provide at least 1.2 million electric vehicle charging points by 2020, of which 10% – 122,000 – must be publicly accessible. The only countries that would have a higher requirement for charging...