MPs told mixed signals ‘stalling EV adoption’

Confusing government policies and poor communication are undermining the UK’s shift to EVs, MPs have been warned.

Tanya Sinclair, chief executive of industry body Electric Vehicles UK, told members of the Environmental Audit Committee that the country’s carbon targets were under threat due to “mixed signals” around the shift to electric vehicles.

Giving evidence as part of the committee’s inquiry into the UK’s next statutory carbon target for 2038-2042, Sinclair told MPs: “The electrification of transport is a market-led transition. But markets only succeed when policy is consistent. Right now, that consistency is missing.”

She added: “Inconsistent government policy and confused communication are undermining the UK’s shift to electric vehicles.”

Her comments come after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced conflicting policies in the autumn Budget, promising more money for the Electric Car Grant at the same time as revealing plans for a pay-per-mile tax on EVs.

During the session, Sinclair highlighted the 3p-per-mile road tax for EVs as a prime example of how unclear messaging can destabilise behaviour.

She noted: “Some in the e-mobility sector didn’t realise the new mileage tax was under consultation. That’s how unclear communication has been. The negative impact on market confidence began immediately, even though the policy is potentially years away.”

She warned MPs that premature or confusing announcements have already nudged some drivers away from EVs and towards full hybrids; behaviour that risks slowing decarbonisation at precisely the wrong moment.

She also said that a rise in misinformation around EVs was “directly affecting driver confidence and purchase intent”.

She told the committee: “We must not let discussion of charging challenges overshadow the fact that the EV market outlook is robust and the vehicles are highly capable.”

Among points stressed to MPs, she pointed out that today’s EVs regularly deliver 300–500 miles of range, compared with under 100 miles five years ago; that EV/ICE price parity was predicted to arrive in the next two years; and that “charging is working far better than public perception suggests.”

However, she also argued that the business case around charger roll-out needed to change. She said that charger number targets had been prioritised, putting quantity ahead of usefulness and created a “distorted picture of accessibility”.

She said: “Many charging business models were built on utilisation assumptions that no longer reflect how people actually charge their EVs.

“Drivers don’t need national charger numbers. They need to know whether charging is available where they live, work and travel.”

Sinclair highlighted areas where government could help improve the scenario, including addressing grid connection delays and planning bottlenecks.

Amid rumours that Europe might push back its ban on combustion engines, Sinclair said that the UK had to “stay the course” on its 2035 target to phase out ICE.