UK Scraps £950M Motorway EV Fund, Redirects £400M to On-Street Charging

The UK government has scrapped the nearly £1 billion Rapid Charging Fund (RCF) initially announced by the Conservative administration to install rapid and ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) chargers along motorways. The fund, which aimed to support over 6,000 rapid charge points by 2035, failed to attract applications from motorway service operators, who found the scheme commercially unviable due to bureaucratic hurdles and long-term power commitments. Instead, the Labour government has redirected £400 million, including a previous £200 million pledge, toward expanding on-street charging infrastructure in urban and underserved residential areas where private investment has lagged. This shift reflects a strategic move to address the everyday charging needs of households without private driveways, with a focus on increasing urban EV adoption rather than long-distance charging corridors, which are now largely developed by private companies like BP and Shell. Industry leaders have welcomed the emphasis on urban infrastructure but questioned why the full original fund was not repurposed to accelerate EV uptake. Meanwhile, the number of public EV chargers in the UK has rapidly increased to over 80,000, a 29% rise year-on-year, indicating significant progress despite the policy pivot.