When the actor Roy Scheider used that iconic line in the film Jaws, little did he know that it would become one of the most famous lines in cinematic history.
Even more surprising would have been the fact that years later we at BVEC, the Electrical Contractors covering Devon, would be using that same line to describe how we feel about the infrastructure that surrounds EV charging in the UK.
In the film, the line is used straight after Chief Police Brody sees the shark for the first time. It’s used to explain that they’ve underestimated the size of the challenge. In our opinion, that is precisely what’s happening with EV charging across the country. Sales of electric cars are going through the roof but it’s not being matched by the installation of public access charging points.
Increased demand
At BVEC we are one of the South West’s leading, NICEIC approved, residential and commercial electrical contractors and one area that’s keeping us busy right now is the installation of charging points. Although we’re fielding enquiries for installations on a daily basis, the truth is we simply need more if we’re to make this whole thing work.
As Electrical Contractors covering Devon, we can clearly see an increased demand for installations but here’s the problem. Demand is being outstripped by sales of electric cars. In addition, most installations that we’re handling are for domestic, home use, not public access use.
What’s the solution?
If you want to solve the problem you need both solutions. Electric car drivers will always want to charge up before they leave home and then top up when they get there. It doesn’t matter if that’s while they’re at work, doing the shopping or even having a round of golf.
Every time that we install an EV charging point somewhere in the South West we know that we’re doing our bit to reduce ‘charging anxiety’. This is a modern, real phenomenon. Petrol car drivers that run low on fuel pretty much know that there’s going to be a petrol station fairly close. EV drivers simply don’t have that same reassurance.
Consider this, Polestar, the new Volvo backed electric car brand, currently has a waiting list for UK test drives and openings on that schedule are being snapped up within hours. That’s just one brand demonstrating genuine, increased demand.
The market is strong
EV car sales in Europe have jumped from 200,000 in 2018 to an expected 1.2m this year. In the UK alone, it’s estimated that 1 in every 10 new cars sold is now electric. What this all means is that the problem isn’t going to get easier.
In the coming weeks and months we will be installing more charging points across the region for various clients. However, what we really want to see is enquiries from those that own or operate public spaces with car parks. If you own a gym, a golf course or a hotel and one of your car parking spaces has an EV charging point, then that alone is going to attract more customers to your location.
Talk to us at BVEC
If you are interested in talking to us about getting an EV charging point installed, then get in touch, we’d be more than happy to talk you through it.
