Scotland expands EV charging network

Scottish First Minister John Swinney announced a £6.3 million investment fund to help expand the EV charging network across Ayrshire and the Glasgow City Region. The goal is to fund more than 3,500 new public chargers.

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Image: Ionity

“Today’s announcement is clear evidence of our commitment to making sustainable travel accessible for everyone in Scotland,” Swinney said. “By fast-tracking EV infrastructure, we’re paving the way for a net-zero Scotland while advancing our goal to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.”

In 2023, the Scottish government announced that it wanted to reach 6,000 public charging points by 2026 – a target the country has now already achieved. There are 6,007 public EV charging points as of 31 October.

“Since the target of 6,000 public EV charge points by 2026 was announced by the Scottish Government in June 2023, charge point infrastructure has grown at an impressive rate – up over 49% from 4,023 in June 2023,” Zapmap COO and Co-founder Melanie Shufflebotham emphasised.

Many of these chargers were installed as part of public-private relationships. Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop stressed that £30 million EV Infrastructure Fund (of which 6.3 million pounds will be used to grow the charging network in Ayrshire and the Glasgow City Region) played a significant role in providing local authorities with the necessary funds. She also highlighted “the key role the private sector will play in delivering Scotland’s future EV charging requirements for public charging.”

“This approach is paying dividends – ensuring faster delivery and greater reliability of public charge points across the country. I’m pleased to welcome the matched investment from businesses such as IONITY which is helping to scale up the provision of public EV charging across Scotland,” Hyslop said.

According to the press release from the Scottish government, the country has invested £65 million in public EV charging since 2011. The country also has more public EV charge points per head of population than any other part of the UK, with the exception of London.

gov.scot

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