Scotland has committed over £7 million to enhance public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) across several city councils. The initiative aims to bolster the private sector’s role in developing a comprehensive charging network, particularly in rural regions.
The funding will be distributed among Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, The Highland Council, Moray Council, and Dundee City Council. This financial support is designed to facilitate collaboration between local authorities and private enterprises to expand Scotland’s public EV charging network.
“The scale of our ambition to decarbonise transport cannot be met alone and I expect that our commitment for approximately 24,000 additional public charge points by 2030 will largely be met by the private sector,” said Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop. “This can only happen, however, if the conditions exist to support this investment – which is exactly what our Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund is working to achieve, with a particular focus on our rural and island communities.”
Scotland currently has over 5,600 public EV charge points, with plans to reach 6,000 by 2026. The private sector is expected to invest between £40 million and £55 million in public EV charging in Scotland in 2024 alone.
Vicky Read, CEO of ChargeUK, added, “Our members will invest over £6 billion in rolling out EV infrastructure before 2030 to provide affordable and convenient charging for all in every part of the UK. Key to achieving that aim is effective partnership with the UK’s governments and local authorities.”
This funding is part of broader efforts to improve Scotland’s charging infrastructure. In June, the Scottish National Investment Bank invested £10 million in charge point operator FOR EV to expand infrastructure nationwide. Additionally, an initiative to install “street cabinet” charging stations was launched earlier this year.
