The truth is that infrastructure is expensive and slow. Sometime in the future a balance will be struck, but that’s a long time ahead. Anyone planning for an EV future has to factor in the number of electric vehicles, the number of wall chargers, the nature of journeys, the price people will pay and the balance between investing or updating fossil fuel stations and EV chargers. No easy task. Its likely that demand will for the next few years, vastly outstrip supply. Look at a country like France. The annual 2 week holiday means an armada of EVs on the road all heading to holidays in the sun, at the same time. That’s a seasonal fluctuation that hardly warrants a huge investment in the infrastructure needed to service that demand. Let them queue. And queue and queue. The upside for the next few years will be more space at the petrol pumps for fossil fuel users as EV proliferate.
Its likely in this country that the rapid chargers will be on motorways increasingly. What chance for enough of them in rural Wales and Scotland, the wilds of Northumberland or the Lake District. The very places that you need them, but places that are hugely seasonal and weather dependent. The truth is that you can be an evangelist for EVs as much as you like, but unlike fossil fuels they aren’t easy to refuel unless your lifestyle and holidays suit. Imagine a family with kids embarking on a long journey. How many stops and queueing do they want? How long a journey can they manage to run an EV? They aren’t likely to be heading to motorways anyway. Let alone get to an EV charger and find a queue.
Ev’s at the moment are made for the single person or couple who live in a city/town and have their own charger. Everyone else has to ask how much inconvenience can they live with, in terms of size, range anxiety, small boots and problems holidaying.
Things will change when range increases and chargers are everywhere and faster. Until then they are not for everyone. But of course by then they will be taxed to hell and back.