Copy

The Electric Vehicle Association for Wales

 
December 2023

Welcome to your quarterly members’ e-news! We have more updates to bring you including our Member Survey, Consultation news, ongoing EVA Cymru activities, and new charging station sites/units.
EV Survey
Firstly, we have compiled a short survey for our current and potential members, to give us feedback on what you would like us to concentrate on to improve the electric vehicle landscape in Wales, and tell us what you think is good and/or bad in your experience. Members should have already received this in their mailbox but if you have not already completed it, this is a request for you to do so. It only takes a few minutes, you can find it here, and it will really help us to inform policy makers of what the EV community want to see. If you have completed it, thank you for your feedback, and we will release the results in the New Year.
Consultation Responses & Senedd News
Since the last newsletter, there have been no new consultations for us to respond to. However, the UK Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 ‘came into force on 24 November 2023 to ensure that the experience of consumers using public charge points across the UK is consistent and positive. This will support the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and help the UK reach its climate targets,’ say the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, read more here.  

Also, the Lords Environment and Climate change Committee Inquiry into electric vehicles, an opportunity for us to put the needs of Welsh electric vehicle drivers and the devolved levers that need to be used on the Westminster agenda, is still ongoing. By the end of November, the call for evidence had 141 written submissions, a high response.

We are continuing the process of contacting the relevant representatives of every County Council Authority in Wales to discuss the Welsh Government’s Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Transformation Fund, and the opportunities for ourselves and our members to support the delivery of the project which we hope will bring significant benefits to EV drivers in Wales, driving and supporting the transition away from polluting vehicles and accelerating Wales’ journey to net zero.

 
Finally, in Wales we have provided input to the Senedd Environment and Climate Change Committee on their review of priorities for the next three years, focusing on the need to continue to scrutinise Electric Vehicle infrastructure and policy actions, and at UK level we have responded to the Lords Environment and Climate change Committee call for evidence for their inquiry into electric vehicles. This will be an opportunity for us to put the needs of Welsh electric vehicle drivers, and the devolved levers that need to be used, on the Westminster agenda. Watch out for more news on that later in the year.
Other News
On November 23rd, our Chair Paul Bevan attended the Cenex-Event in Neath Port Talbot (NPT). This was an opportunity for us to meet decision makers and industry experts, along with showcasing ourselves. The slot went well, we had a generous 25mins plus 20 mins for questions, and there seemed to be genuine interest.

Unfortunately, not all Welsh regions were represented, with most of the attendees from NPT with a few from Newport & Cardiff. There were quite a few people from non-Wales areas, including from Cenex itself, some of the on-street suppliers, and ChargeUK (a CPO group). Transport for Wales (TfW) were represented by three project managers, one who works on rapid; one on charging in rail car parks; and one who is working with the local authorities. Disappointingly, no-one from Welsh Government turned up.

Good conversations were had with the TfW staff, and the local authorities present, with discussion about funding pots, trialling Kerbo Charge gullies, procuring charging solutions, charging cost for parking and charging, and there was interest from some in working with us on these things.
  
 
On December 5th, we attended the Wales Climate Week 2023 virtual conference to observe an Electric Vehicle presentation by Transport for Wales. Steve Ward (Decarbonisation Programme Manager, TfW) and Rachel Lewis (EV Project Manager, TfW) delivered the presentation. Key points made were that most carbon reductions in transport would come from electrification of private vehicles and public transport, with additional contributions from reducing travel mileage and modal shift; and the main barriers to delivering the infrastructure needed were, unsurprisingly, planning issues, the challenge of on-street charging and the requirement to strengthen the electricity grid. The screenshot below shows what TfW are currently delivering for EV uptake.     
Since the last newsletter, we have become a partner of Climate Cymru, a Welsh environmental campaign group, to broaden our reach to other businesses and partners with working interests aligned with ours. Regarding this, you may have seen on our social media and in the news, that on December 9th there was a Global Day of Action for Climate Change, with Action Marches in Bangor, Cardiff and Swansea.
 
We have been reading with interest a paper by Possible, a UK based climate charity working towards a zero-carbon society, on the relationship between the highest incomes and the most polluting vehicles. In short, it shows that the most polluting petrol and diesel vehicles are the huge SUVs or ‘Chelsea Tractors,’ with a price tag far higher than the average electric vehicle. It highlights the terrible decision by the UK Prime Minister to roll back the ban on petrol and diesel only vehicles by five years, which we strongly objected to. You can read the full document here
Charging Updates
 
At the end of November, there were 2206 charge points in Wales, 4.2% of the UK total, according to data by Zap-map. There have been 280 new installations throughout the country since the last newsletter, most notably the Gridserve Electric Highway hub at MOTO services Cardiff West, with 12 -  350 kW Ultra Rapids.

The latest Rapid-charger installation sites are:
  • GENIEPOINT:
    Morrisons Supermarket Abergavenny, NP7 5TR. 1 Rapid 50 kW..
  • SWARCO E-CONNECT:
    Carregamman Car Park, Ammanford, SA18 3AD. 1 Rapid 50 kW.
    Carmel Street, Abertillery, NP13 1DG. 1 Rapid 50 kW.
    Avondale Road, Cwmbran, NP44 1TT. 1 Rapid 150 kW.
  • GRIDSERVE ELECTRIC HIGHWAY:
    MOTO Cardiff West Services, Pontyclun, CF72 8SA. 2 Rapid 40 kW, 6 Rapid 100 kW, 12 Ultra Rapid 350 kW..
  • SAINSBURY'S:
    Sainsbury’s Supermarket Newport, NP20 5NJ. 4 Rapid 150 kW..
  • INSTAVOLT:
    McDonalds Cowbridge, Bridgend, CF31 3XX. 2 Rapid 150 kW..
If you know of any news regarding latest locations of installations, and occasionally removal, and on-going issues of major charging infrastructure, please let us know so we can be as informed as possible, thanks. Contact us
Membership
As always, whether you are a new member or been with us from the start, thank you for your support. It is just over one year since the very first meeting we had to discuss the possibility of EVA Cymru and since then we have been able to make an impact and build relationships. We are keen to grow our membership as much as possible to make sure that we can represent as many EV drivers as possible - so please send this newsletter on to other people who might be interested. The more members we have, the more power we have in discussions in the policy/decision making process. To register a new interest in membership please complete the form here.

Please also follow us on X(Twitter) at @EVACymru , Facebook at EVA Cymru | Facebook, and LinkedIn at evacymru, and re-post if you can to help us reach even more people. As always, you can find out more about who we are, our purpose and see more content and resources on our website at eva.cymru.

We offer two levels of Individual Membership:

FREE Associate Membership
This gives you access to most EVA Cymru events, information, and our regular information emails.

Full Membership
For just (£10) you can become a full member of EVA Cymru which gives you all the benefits of an Associate Member as well as Full Member benefits such as Member Discounts and exclusive events. You will also be directly supporting our work and will be able to vote at our AGM to set the direction and strategy of EVA Cymru.

We also offer Corporate Membership to companies who want to support EV development in Wales. If you would like to discuss Corporate Membership, please Contact us.

That is all for now, you are right up to date for this quarter.
Thank you for your support!

 
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year
from all of us at EVA Cymru
Twitter
Website
Facebook
Copyright © 2023 EVA Cymru, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email as you have previously expressed an interest in EVA Cymru.
Want to change if and how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp