THERE are more public electric vehicle charging points in Redditch than there were two years ago, new figures show.

The government is aiming to entirely phase out petrol and diesel-powered cars by 2030 but with battery electric vehicles planned to account for all car sales by 2035, it has faced criticism from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The group says there are not enough charging points for many people to purchase electric vehicles.

Department for Transport figures show there were 12 publicly provided charging points in Redditch on January 1 – up from eight two years ago.

They were among 28,375 installed across the UK at the start of this year, up from 16,505 in January 2020.

Redditch residents had also installed 335 at-home charging points through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme as of January 1 – a 148 per cent increase over the last two years, further Department for Transport figures outline.

The scheme gives applicants a 75 per cent grant towards the cost of installing the charging point up to £350.

There have also been 61 charging points installed at workplaces.

But with residents requiring "designated, private off-street parking" for the Homecharge Scheme, the SMMT has argued for more investment for those who only have on-street parking available.

Across the West Midlands, 430 charging points have been fitted as a part of the On-Street Residential Scheme, to which local authorities can apply to fund installations.

A further 412 applications have been approved since April 2019, but installation remains incomplete.

The government announced major investment plans in charging infrastructure last month, totalling £1.6 billion across a range of schemes.

They include the already announced £950 million Rapid Charging Fund, to install more than 6,000 rapid chargers on England's motorways, and a £450 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure fund to address the shortfall of local charging points.