New Source London scheme means city now has 400 points – but can it beat Berlin, Paris and San Francisco?
London made a significant step towards becoming the "electric car capital of Europe" with the launch of a new scheme that adds 150 charging points in the city.
The creation of the first capital-wide charging network is an attempt to quash fears of "range anxiety". The take-up of motorists looking to switch to electric cars has been partly hampered by the fear that batteries will need recharging after around 100 miles of driving.
The mayor, Boris Johnson, said: "I want to rapidly accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles and make London the epicentre of electric driving in Europe."
The opening of the Source London scheme means there are now around 400 points in the city, a increase on the roughly 250 previously available to drivers. Ultimately, the plan is to have 1,300 points by 2013, or no more than one mile from every Londoner.
Johnson added: "One of the biggest hurdles to greater use of electric vehicles has been a lack of charging points. But now Londoners will see Source London points popping up in locations all over the capital. By giving increasing numbers of drivers the confidence in electric vehicle technology we will make a considerable contribution to improving our air quality and cutting carbon emissions."
Electric car owners will pay £100 per year for membership, which supercedes the previous disparate and charging membership schemes run by different boroughs, where a lack of integration meant a motorist registered in Camden would not be able to charge in Westminster. In return for their fee, drivers will be able to power up for free at roadsides, car parks and supermarkets. There are also plans to link the scheme with an East of England network that is due to launch soon.
Electric cars have been hamstrung in the UK by a lack of models by major car makers, but 2011 has been forecast as a "breakthrough year" for the vehicles with new cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the introduction of a £5,000 government grant. A UK version of GM's flagship Volt, the Vauxhall Ampera, is expected to go on sale in 2012, alongside a plug-in version of the Toyota Prius and several models from Renault. Take-up for the grant scheme has been relatively slow so far, with just 534 cars registered under the scheme in the first quarter of 2011.
London leads the UK in electric car infrastructure, accounting for two-thirds of the 700-750 available nationally, according to charging point maker Chargemaster and low-carbon car site Next Green Car. Johnson has said previously that he would like to have 100,000 electric cars on London's roads but has set no timetable for the goal. The government's climate advisers, the Committee on Climate Change, say that the UK as a whole needs 1.7m electric cars by 2020 to meet its carbon targets. London's points will be paid for through a mix of public and private money, and will be managed for the first three years by Siemens.
Other cities are racing to position themselves as the world's most electric car-friendly city, with Berlin trialling electric cars with Mercedes Benz and San Francisco mandating all new buildings are wired for electric cars. This autumn Paris is set to launch an electric car rental scheme, dubbed AutoLib, using a French-made model called the Bluecar.