Vauxhall welcomes UK government funding for kerbside charging

The managing director of auto manufacturer Vauxhall has welcomed the announcement from Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves that the UK Government will provide £65m in extra funding to grow the kerbside chargepoint network across the country.

By Liam McLoughlin February 4, 2025 Read time: 2 mins

"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," says Vauxhall MD James Taylor. Image: © Dabisik/Dreamstime.com

Vauxhall MD James Taylor said the move is "a welcome boost" to the UK’s EV charging network 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 – our Electric Streets campaign sets out precisely to help with that.

“Support for kerbside charging is critical to ensure nobody is left behind on the UK’s electrification journey, with millions of drivers without access to driveways reliant on an effective public charging network. Vauxhall is working closely with leading charge point operators, such as Connected Kerb, through its Electric Streets of Britain initiative, which was introduced to help councils across the UK with the acceleration of public charge point roll out."

Vauxhall is inviting drivers to register their on-street charging needs on one national portal and then that data is passed to councils for them to know where residents actually want to see them installed in their area. So far over 12,000 streets across the country have been logged as needing on-street charging through electricstreets.co.uk

Taylor added: “2024 saw a 21% growth in electric car uptake, and whilst the number of overall public charge points is increasing substantially – some 38% up last year – the vast majority of the UK’s on-street residential chargers are currently located in the capital."