Tuesday 28 March 2023
The attempted rollout of electric vehicles (EVs) in Wales has been slammed by a cross-party committee.
Scrutinising the Welsh government’s charging network plans, the Welsh parliament committee labelled them “embarrassing” in a recent report.
The report claims that less than half of the government’s EV commitments have been delivered on time, calling into question its ability to deliver on targets.
In Wales there is also currently one rapid charger per 15,000 people, compared with one per 11,000 for the rest of the UK – the committee heard.
Chairman of the committee, Llyr Gruffydd, said: “There has been some progress over the last few years but nowhere near where it needs to be. The Welsh government's action plan isn't even 18 months old yet and some of the targets have already been missed. This is unacceptable and embarrassing.”
A Welsh government spokesperson responded: “We welcome today’s report which contains some key learnings for us, as we work to deliver the charging infrastructure Wales needs.
“We were pleased to see that Wales is now showing the greatest percentage increase of any UK region in charging and rapid charging provision. This is thanks to an ambitious delivery programme we have developed with key partners and we now look forward to building on these foundations.”