Electric vehicles will drive Midlands’ boom

The Midlands is ‘on the brink’ of an environmental and economic boom worth several billion pounds, fuelled by a massive upsurge in electric vehicles (EVs) and EV infrastructure over the next five to six years.

This is according to new figures from Midlands Connect, an alliance of councils and business groups covering Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Shropshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Warwickshire.

Electric vehicle numbers to soar

At its EV conference in March, Midlands Connect revealed research that suggests the number of EVs on the region’s roads will soar by nearly 2,000%, from 103,014 today to 2,059,611 in 2030. At that point, EVs would represent a third of all vehicles.

Midlands Connect says the figures indicate that the region needs nearly 60,000 public charging points (EVCPs) by 2030 to support this increase in EV use. Today, there are just 6,090 across the region. To reach the target, 27 new EVCPs should be installed every day, (nearly 200 per week or 10,000 per year) until the start of the new decade.

Such activity is estimated to bring £1.87bn of economic benefits to the region from 2025 to 2040, an additional £1.46bn in environmental benefits and to create at least 11,000 jobs.

Midland Connect’s CEO, Maria Machancoses, said: “It’s clear we’re still on the brink of a boom in EVs. Local authorities across the Midlands are doing a great job to roll out charging points, but they cannot do this alone. We’re already working with them to support their work and help secure EV infrastructure funding from Government.

“We want to make the Midlands the home of the green industrial revolution.”

The councils working with Midland Connect have formed several consortiums to bid for funding from the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund – a government-funded programme which supports councils to install electric vehicle charge points with additional private investment from charge point operators.

Government money coming in

In September 2023, Midlands Connect partnered with local authorities to win £40.3mn from the LEVI Fund. And in March this year, another collaboration between Midlands Connect and five councils received £17.6mn from the fund to get more charge points on the streets, particularly in rural areas.

The funding means approximately 8,000 new charge sockets can be supplied across the consortium area and should also support more than 11,000 jobs in the whole electric vehicle charging supply chain.

The consortium is led by Nottinghamshire County Council in partnership with Derby City, Derbyshire County, Nottingham City and Staffordshire County Councils, and Midlands Connect.

Cooperation across the Midlands

In response to the news that the consortium had won nearly £18mn, Machancoses said: “It’s great to see government supporting our collaborative approach to delivering EV and transforming how we travel around our region and beyond. The collaboration draws on their collective knowledge and expertise to deliver on street charging, making it even easier for those without driveways to make the switch to cleaner travel.”

Members across the consortium echoed her sentiments.

Angela Kandola, Nottingham City Council’s portfolio holder for highways and transport, said: “We want to support people to make more sustainable transport choices and give people more opportunity to charge electric vehicles is a step in the right direction.”

Neil Clarke, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottingham County Council, said: “With funding now secured, we can drive ahead with our ambitious plans to develop a well-connected public charge point network, powered by renewable energy, that will inspire and reassure motorists to go electric.”

Councillor Carolyn Renwick, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment, said: “We’re committed to providing convenient, comprehensive, and cost-effective charging solutions for road users in Derbyshire and this funding will help us to further progress several projects in this area.”

David Williams, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, made it clear that collaboration is key to using the funds effectively and said: “We will work with our consortium partners and the private sector to facilitate successful delivery. We will also work with businesses to encourage workplace charging and residents to support off-street charging, in addition to people and organisations making planning applications.”

Machancoses concluded that the “figures really show the importance of investing in green transport. As the UK moves towards Net Zero, there must be more green jobs and investment, especially in an industrial region such as the Midlands.

“Electric car and fleet use is on the rise so it’s great to see the funding for infrastructure will have such a positive impact, it will create thousands of jobs across the region.”

EV infrastructure expanding in Warwickshire

Elsewhere in the region, Warwickshire County Council is looking to expand its EV infrastructure to encourage more residents to switch.

It is planning a suite of measures such as exploring home-charging solutions, dedicated EV charge point parking spaces and encouraging residents to suggest good sites for new charge points.

WCC’s transport spokesperson, Councillor Jan Matecki, said: “We are aware that a boom in the ownership of these vehicles is on the horizon and are dedicating considerable resource to ensuring that we are ready for it.

“The significant rise in electric vehicle ownership is a positive step towards a cleaner and greener future. This council is fully committed to supporting this transition by ensuring a robust and accessible network of EV charging points throughout the region.”