Many drivers want the “nonsensical” ban on new petrol and diesel cars to be ditched entirely, according to campaigners.
FairFuelUK’s Howard Cox said the policy was “ill thought out” and there were not enough public charging points for it to work.
He was speaking after Rishi Sunak extended the date for the ban on new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035.
Mr Cox warned Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer that if he won the next election he should not reinstate the 2030 target as it would show he was not “in touch with fiscal common sense and the grass roots of this nation”.
He also claimed the PM knew the 2030 ban would “cost him the 2024 election”.
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He called for all dated bans on fossil-fuelled vehicles to be scrapped, suggesting they amounted to “economic insanity”.
The country currently has around one public standard charger for every 36 plug-in electric cars on the road, compared with 31 in 2021.
The National Infrastructure Commission warned in March – when there were around 45,000 public chargers in total – that the Government would substantially miss its target of 300,000 by 2030.
There are also huge regional variations in the distribution of chargers, with 152 per 100,000 people in London, compared with only 39 in the North-West.
NIC chairman Sir John Armitt said: “Drivers need to have confidence that they will be able to find a charge point whether they’re in Hackney, Holyhead or Honiton.”
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The charging industry has said it plans to invest £6billion up to 2030 to bolster the network for motorists.
But Colin Walker, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said the sector needed certainty to push ahead with that investment.
He added: “The sudden decision to push the phase-out date back to 2035 creates uncertainty – this could slow the pace at which new EV chargers are rolled out.”
Mr Sunak said he remained committed to the UK reaching its legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050.
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