There’s no doubt that electric cars are all the rage. With vehicles such as the Chevy Spark, Chevy Volt and Tesla seeming to pop up in the news on an almost daily basis, it has become clear that drivers are more than willing to make the switch to electric. However, the challenge at this point seems to be infrastructure. In just over a decade, experts believe that over half of all new car and van sales will be for electric vehicles. But someone is going to have to install a lot of charging points if those vehicles are going to function. After all, once drivers leave their homes, their cars will start to lose their charge. People are going to need on-the-go charging stations, which are in woefully low supply at this point, far below what necessity demands.
In the United Kingdom alone, it is estimated that these new charging points will cost a cool half a billion dollars. But who is going to foot the bill? The UK government is hoping that some grants will help to ameliorate the situation. These grants will be allocated to homeowners and businesses who want to install charging points. As always, the shift seems to be happening much faster in bigger cities. For instance, an electric vehicle driver who is seeking a charging point in London will have a much easier time than one looking to charge up in Wales. As cities start to stack up charging points, it will be important for governments and transportation authorities to ensure that highways and even backroads are stocked with an appropriate amount of chargers.
One encouraging piece of data is the rapid increase of chargers available. Already multiplying several times over—at a rate of 4,000% within the past year—it seems to reflect the fact that drivers are becoming serious about purchasing and using electric vehicles. Indeed, it seems as if it is only a matter of time before the amount of charging points in the UK explodes. Many experts are using the state of California as an example to drive forward innovation. In the “golden state,” charging points can be seen everywhere. Outside shopping malls and places of business, they remind us that the future is already upon us—and that many savvy drivers are choosing electric vehicles.