EV range anxiety is ‘no longer as big a deal’, says Eon MD

Range anxiety among electric vehicle (EV) drivers is “not as big a deal as it once was”, the managing director of Eon Drive Infrastructure has claimed.

Dev Chana told Utility Week that technological barriers – such as an EV’s range – are no long a barrier to uptake.

Instead, Chana said British consumers are now more concerned about a lack of charging infrastructure, rather than vehicle range.

He explained: “The concerns that consumers had for a long time was range anxiety; would the car actually get there. That’s no longer the case as the new wave of EVs can achieve up to 300 miles on a single charge. So, range anxiety is not as big a deal as it once was.

“What we have now is charger anxiety; will there be a charger where I am going, will I have to queue up, will the unit be quick enough, and most importantly, will it work. That is exactly what we are addressing at Eon, improving the infrastructure for ultra-rapid charging across the UK.”

Eon Drive Infrastructure is a charge point operator that combines network development, construction and operation of public charging infrastructure for electric cars and commercial vehicles.

It currently has more than 5,000 public charging points across Europe, but just 11 in the UK.

Asked what Eon is doing to resolve issue of “charge anxiety”, Chana responded: “The first phase of our ultra-rapid hubs go live this year. By the end of 2024 we are aiming to have up to 70 300kW capable charging bays in the ground and that’s just the start.

“There is some excellent work going on industry wide and Eon is here for the long-term; we want our customers to gain reassurance that there is a big utility involved now too.”

Earlier this week, Eon was among a number of organisations calling on the chancellor to slash VAT on public electric vehicle charging in Wednesday’s Budget (6 March).

Current rules mean that VAT is levied at 20% on public EV charge points compared to 5% for private ones.

An open letter to Jeremy Hunt, written by EV campaign group FairCharge founder Quentin Willson, describes the current VAT rules as an “unfair burden” on those without access to home charging.

The letter, which is also being supported by Auto Trader and Eon, stated: “HMRC’s current tax policy is acting as a barrier to wider electric vehicle adoption, particularly for the 38% of the population without driveways and currently less able to charge at home.

“Because of ongoing volatility in the energy markets, charging at a public device compared to a domestic one – where VAT is levied at 20% compared to 5% – can currently be more expensive than filling up with petrol or diesel, and considerably more than the lowest night-time domestic electricity rate.

Despite the pleas from industry, there was no mention of cutting VAT in Hunt’s speech.