What is Chancellor Rachel Reeves promising electrical automobile drivers in her new financial system boosting pledge?
- Reeves has unveiled new investment in EV chargepoints to help EV uptake
Rachel Reeves has announced a £65million investment into electric car charging infrastructure as part of raft of new measures to kickstart the economy.
On-street charging was prioritised in the Chancellor’s speech on Wednesday morning delivered from the Siemens Healthineers factory in Oxfordshire, in which she pledged new policies to boost UK economic growth.
The money earmarked for the network of EV devices aims to make charging more accessible and accelerate the switch to zero emission vehicles in what has been dubbed a ‘welcome boost’ by industry insiders.
Connected Kerb, an EV charging company that delivers on-street charging and works with manufacturers including Vauxhall, will receive the £65million investment to expand its network across the UK. The funding will come via the new National Wealth Fund (NWF) and Aviva Investors.
Currently, a lack of on-street EV charging is seen as one of the biggest barriers to EV uptake.
With a third of households in England not having access to off-street parking – and therefore rely on public chargers – and an uneven spread of devices across the country, the Chancellor will hope the investment will trigger increased EV demand as Labour stands by its promise to outlaw sales on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
![Chancellor Rachel Reeves' announced £65m investment in public chargepoint installer Connected Kerb as part of today's speech kickstarting economic growth](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/12/94634801-14337621-image-a-1_1738154233295.jpg)
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announced £65m investment in public chargepoint installer Connected Kerb as part of today’s speech kickstarting economic growth
The NWF is reportedly taking a 10 per cent equity stake in Berkshire–based Connected Kerb worth £55million, while Aviva Investors – the global asset management branch of Aviva Group – will put up the further £10million.
Adam Wood, Renault UK managing director, said: ‘Investment in off-street charging infrastructure is especially welcome, both for addressing a critical requirement to give people without a driveway an easy, affordable way to charge an electric car, and for signalling a firm government commitment to making the transition to electric vehicles happen to the timescales it has set with its mandate.’
Wednesday’s announcement marks one of the first investments made by the NWF and unveils the latest move in Labour’s commitment to a future of zero-emission cars.
The Chancellor also used the announced on Wednesday to confirm a £28million equity investment in Cornish Metals, a firm that mines minerals for EV batteries and solar panels.
As part of its election manifesto, Labour pledged to ‘set binding targets for EV chargepoint rollout’ as well as ‘release and redirect the existing £950million Rapid Charging Fund’ to ‘remove planning barriers to chargepoint rollout’.
The Chancellor then doubled down on this commitment in the Autumn Budget when announcing a further £200million investment in public charging between 2025 and 2026.
It was established that local authorities will be given funding to support on-street charging across England.
![Connected Kerb, is an EV charging company that delivers fast, on-street charging to those without home chargers and works with manufacturers including Vauxhall](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/12/94634911-14337621-image-a-8_1738154516088.jpg)
Connected Kerb, is an EV charging company that delivers fast, on-street charging to those without home chargers and works with manufacturers including Vauxhall
The investment in Connected Kerb will help the firm achieve its ambitious targets of quadrupling its charging sockets to 40,000 and help Britain achieve its target of 300,000 public chargers installed by 2030.
James Taylor, Vauxhall UK’s managing director, called the extra funding for kerbside chargepoints a ‘welcome boost’ at a ‘pivotal time’.
He added: ‘We need to ensure that these new on-street chargers, which are key to enabling those without a driveway to charge their EV, get installed in the right towns and streets where they will get used.’
Which areas of the UK are falling behind in the public charging rollout?
While the Government recently announced that the UK is on track to deliver the required number of chargepoints by the end of the decade, some areas are lagging behind.
This is Money recently reported how there’s a geographical North-South divide for EV public charger availability.
The latest published figures by chargepoint mapping service ZapMap shows that the North of England is far behind the South for device accessability.
![The North East is massively lagging behind the South East in the public charging rollout](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/12/94634829-14337621-image-a-4_1738154423899.jpg)
The North East is massively lagging behind the South East in the public charging rollout
Last year we also reported that the latest government data showed that there were regional disparities in the changepoint rollout, with the South East averages 82 devices per 100,000, with the South West just behind with 80, as of the end of July.
In comparison, Yorkshire and the Humber has only 56 chargers per 100,000. And the North West doesn’t fair much better with 60 chargers per 100,000.
However the North East fairs better overall with 72 per 100,000, yet is the only area of the UK to not see an increase in devices in the last quarter.
But Connected Kerb, has since announced plans to more than double the number of chargepoints in the North East via its partnership with South Tyneside Council.
The rollout of 2,100 new EV chargepoints deployed marked the largest ever deployment of charging infrastructure in the North East and will see the region – which is home to just 2.7 per cent of the UK’s charging infrastructure – receive a 126 per cent boost in its existing network, playing a fundamental role in levelling-up access to charging infrastructure.
Will EV prices be subsidised to boost sales?
It’s been rumoured that ministers are drawing up plans to subsidise electric car purchases as part of efforts to encourage uptake.
The Financial Times claims that the government is considering guaranteeing consumer loans in order to incentivise private EV uptake amid a sales struggle.
The government has reportedly started discussions with the car finance sector to try to increase the availability of low-interest or interest-free loans to help boost EV sales.
![Ford UK managing director Lisa Brankin has said that the auto industry 'really needs government-backed incentives to urgently boost the uptake of electric vehicles'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/12/93866245-14337621-Ultra_rapid_150kW_devices_have_seen_an_83_increase_since_the_end-a-2_1738154261743.jpg)
Ford UK managing director Lisa Brankin has said that the auto industry ‘really needs government-backed incentives to urgently boost the uptake of electric vehicles’
Underwriting private sector loans to reduce the monthly repayments to help bring EV purchase costs to levels closer to petrol or diesel vehicles, is an option on the table according to in the know government and industry figures.
The EV industry has long been calling for the government to bring back EV incentives as private sales continue to fall well below the required amount to hit EV targets.
UK markets are the worst supported in Europe for any government incentives to help people transition from a petrol or diesel engine to an EV powertrain, and we really do need now for the Government to step up.
Calling for the government to ‘step up’ and ‘assist’ the industry, Polestar UK managing director Matt Galvin told PA that the UK is the ‘worst in Europe for any government incentives to help people transition from a petrol or diesel engine to an EV powertrain’.
Ford UK managing director Lisa Brankin similarly told the BBC: ‘The one thing that we really need is government-backed incentives to urgently boost the uptake of electric vehicles.’