Transport for the North publishes its EV State of Play Report

Thursday 12th December 2024

Reviewing where are we now, where we need to be by 2050, and actions to support a successful EV transition. 

Our 2024 annual report highlights increasing momentum in the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) but only with a range of actions, based on real world experience, will we see an inclusive, fair and sustainable roll out. 

Here is a summary of how things are looking…. 

EV uptake – Between autumn 2022 and winter 2023 the number of EVs on our region’s roads doubled to over 250,000. EVs are currently account for around 20% of UK new car sales. However, EVs still only make up 2.9% of the 8.8m vehicles on the North’s roads against a projection that 25% of the vehicle fleet required to be electric by 2030 to meet our decarbonisation ambitions.  

Public charge points – delivery of EV charging infrastructure also continues to rise, with over 15,000 (plugs) now available in the region, more than double the number two years ago. But again, our projected requirements demonstrate that as much as a fifteenfold increase could be needed by the end of the decade, with 178,000 to 240,000 public charge point plugs required across the North of England.  

Energy infrastructure – Our evidence suggests an additional 6,816 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year demand will be placed on the electricity grid across the region to support the 2030 public charging requirement alone. This is the equivalent of annual household electricity consumption of around 1.7m households. So as we have set out in the North’s Strategic Transport Plan, we’ve got to adopt a ‘systems approach’ so we bring all the necessary infrastructure together to enable the EV transition. 

Our annual report has been informed by the STB EVCI Framework, which supports value-for-money, consistent and integrated public sector activities and informs choices on the deployment of local EV charging infrastructure. This has recently been rolled out for use across England via the Sub-National Transport Bodies). TfN released new upgrades in December 2024 which you can read about here. 

Percentage of actual public charging against projected 2030 requirements  

Recommendations to further implement the EV transition  

Working in collaboration with our Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Transport Authorities, this report highlights key remaining challenges to the EV transition and opportunities which can have an enabling effect on the progress of EV uptake and charging infrastructure.  

We intend to use the report to continue shaping EV infrastructure delivery to meet ambitions for a rapid and equitable transition to zero emission vehicles.  The recommendations are captured in six themes: 

  1. Vehicle access – improving new user access as well as information and communication about EVs.
  2. Charging rollout for cars, vans and HGVs – monitoring of deployment (especially public funded activity such as LEVI and the Rapid Charging Fund, (RCF)), speeding up spatial considerations for installations, connections to the electricity grid, improving user experience (digital connectivity and information), and tackling operational and maintenance challenges. 
  3. Inclusivity – ensuring charging infrastructure supports all who need to drive, recognising our whole network vision, travel hierarchy and the needs of local residents. This includes regulations and fiscal measures to improve access to EVs and to make charging accessible to all users. 
  4. Systems Thinking – building on the strong partnerships TfN and partners have developed with the energy sector, enhancing investment decisions and streamlining processes to make the most of local and regional data, evidence and planning.
  5. Sustainability – ensuring electricity used for EVs is renewably generated, investment in battery production to support both EV transition and economic growth, and that due regard to appropriate production, re-use, and disposal of batteries is considered. 
  6. Skills – ensuring the EV transition is supported by further investment in skills and training as part of the green economy, from manufacturing to car dealership and the information communicated to potential users.

To read more, see our report in full here.

You can view our EVCI Framework visualiser here – https://evci-visualiser.transportforthenorth.com/  

You can explore more about our work on EVs and charging here.