Salary sacrifice specialist Fleet Evolution has launched a free workplace charge point offer for World EV Day amid concerns about public charging investment.

Fleet Evolution is offering a free workplace charge point to any company that signs up before the 9 September deadline

Taking place globally on 9 September this year, World EV Day will once again celebrate e-mobility and promote the shift to sustainable transport.

To mark the event, Tamworth-based Fleet Evolution is offering a free workplace charge point to any company that signs up before the 9 September deadline and subsequently orders one vehicle or more through its salary sacrifice scheme.

The business already offers a free workplace charge point to any customer with five or more of its cars on the fleet; it’s already provided 100 free charge points at businesses across the UK under the offer, alongside a further 300 charge points to employees as part of their salary sacrifice package.

Founder and managing director Andrew Leech said: “We are happy to support World EV Day by providing a workplace charge point free of charge as we firmly believe that, for the majority, switching to an EV is simpler and cheaper than running a diesel – as well as the obvious green benefits this delivers.”

But he added that the business has a major worry over the lack of investment by local authorities in public charge points.

Latest Department for Transport figures on EV charging device grant scheme take-up reveal that just 107 local authorities across the UK – around one third – have successfully applied for On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS).  Only 2,869 public charge points have currently been installed, while funding for a further 9,543 have been approved.

Figures indicate that there are around 40% of households without a driveway, parking space or garage.

And while latest Zap-Map data shows that the percentage of on-street households within five minutes’ walk of a public charger has increased from 12% to 17%, its report also finds that increases in coverage are very inconsistent across different councils.

Last month saw the Government recognise the need for more dedicated resource with an extra £20m for nine local authorities in a pilot scheme to install 1,000 public charge points.

But Fleet Evolution says further action is needed.

“While the latest funding boost to nine local authorities is to be welcomed of course, the Government needs to take sustained action to compel public sector investment across the board and level up the charging map for everyone,” stated Leech.