Dr Hannah Budnitz and Dr Labib Azzouz are research associates at the Transport Studies Unit and Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford. Our submission is based on over 10 years’ combined human-focused, mixed methods research into topics related to the EV and electric mobility transitions and transport and energy innovation.
Our work with current EV drivers, policymakers and stakeholders suggests that Government policies have been broadly effective in supporting early adopters and generating momentum for the EV transition. Our research with other groups of drivers, including rural residents, taxi drivers from minority backgrounds, and householders who are unlikely to be able to charge from home can inform the consistent narrative and socially just policy now needed to continue to supercharge the transition.
We describe our research projects and provide more detailed answers to the Committee’s questions in the sections below, but our main points are:
In summary, our submission provides evidence not only on the progress of the transition in the UK to date, but also on how policy must change going forward to move beyond early adopters into the mainstream to accelerate an inclusive EV transition.
The research projects (links to project pages) from which we draw our evidence include:
An Innovate UK funded project to build 20 EV charging hubs in council car parks across Oxfordshire’s rural towns and villages. Evidence from this project was sourced from an online panel survey (n=2001) administered in 2020 aimed at understanding adoption intentions (Budnitz et al., 2024a) and preferences for such hubs (Budnitz et al., 2024b) among households unlikely to be able to charge domestically due to a lack of private parking. Former colleague, Dr Sivapriya Bhagavathy, analysed EV registration data to project EV uptake at the national and county levels, aimed to dispel myths about battery life (Bhagavathy et al., 2021), and developed methods to identify where and how many dwellings are unlikely to be able to install / use home chargers (Collet et al., 2022). The project also involved public engagement events and interviews with EV owners and the EV-interested across Oxfordshire.
A trans-European project funded by each country’s relevant research council (ESRC in the UK), the project analysed social inclusion and justice issues across multiple modes of electric mobility and related policy in Bristol, UK, Oslo, Norway, Utrecht, the Netherlands and Poznan, Poland. Evidence from extensive qualitative analysis of local and national policy documents, interviews and workshops with local and national stakeholders informed a comparative policy analysis (Budnitz et al., 2025). A policy brief produced for Bristol, UK describes all live policies related to the transition to electric mobility and how these can be more effective and inclusive. The project also involved interviews with residents of the four cities on awareness and perceptions of the transition.
An Innovate UK funded project to install a giant hybrid battery to power EV charging, fleet electrification, and low carbon heating. Dr Azzouz was responsible for gathering the transport evidence from interviews with taxi drivers, local policymakers and fleet operators to evaluate the effectiveness of incentives and restrictions for Hackney taxis and Council fleets to transition to EVs, as well as the user experience of the charging hub (Hampton et al., 2024).
Energy for Mobility theme: An EPSRC and ESRC funded interdisciplinary programme of research on the energy transition. Evidence from interviews with hundreds of EV drivers at several rapid EV charging hubs in the Southeast provides insights into both the expected and realised EV charging experiences of different users (Azzouz et al., 2026a).
An EPSRC funded project involving multiple site visits, multi-level questionnaires and interviews, and engaging with policymakers, transport professionals and the public in the cities of Oxford, Leeds, and Brighton to inform the role of the bikes in mode substitution and enabling new travel opportunities and explored relevant beyond-utility motivations (Azzouz et al., 2026b).
An ESRC funded project currently investigating the potential to accelerate the transition to EVs in the countryside through the establishment of electric car clubs and community transport. This mainly qualitative work builds on a Transport Research and Innovation Grant (TRIG) funded quantitative analysis and prototype tool highlighting the environmental benefits of electric car clubs in British counties and neighbourhoods using open data on vehicle registrations, traffic and emissions (Budnitz and Hoefer, 2025). It was inspired by an Oxfordshire County Council electric car club trial supported by Dr Budnitz that demonstrated the demand for electric car clubs in market towns and villages.
An EPSRC funded project linking surveys, sensors and smart meter data to understand household energy demand. Current analysis of households with EVs reveals patterns of co-adoption of home charge points, solar panels and batteries and of flexible energy use that follows off-peak time-of-use tariffs and / or solar energy production.
National and local policies for the EV transition are generally well-aligned and have been effective to date, particularly for the early adopter market.
Our in-depth analysis of all relevant live policies (ITEM: policy brief) indicates:
For example, charge point operators may be unwilling to install public charging in low-income neighbourhoods where few EV adopters live due to viability concerns, but a lack of public charging further deters adoption if the area also lacks off-street parking (Budnitz et al., 2025).
To continue to accelerate uptake, the balance or ‘policy mix’ of incentives, infrastructure deployment, information provision, regulations and restrictions must recognise the breadth of values, needs, experiences and capabilities within diverse populations.
Our research (ITEM: policy brief) suggests several actions to achieve this:
EV take-up is robust but uneven, and to meet transition and emission targets, policy must now move beyond new EV sales and early adopters to support second-hand and shared EVs, alongside other measures.
Our analysis of EV registration data in 2019 which we revisited in 2024 to forecast EV uptake suggests a robust transition, even if not all specific targets are met (Park and Charge). As Dr Bhagavathy’s web tool shows, EV take-up is uneven by nation and county. Overall, however, it is moving from early adopters towards the mainstream on the steeper part of the ‘S-curve’, a theoretical trajectory for technological change seen in mobile phones and solar panel.
EV take-up targets cannot achieve net zero alone, nor address other costly consequences and inefficiencies of car-dominant societies, such as congestion and parking pressure in cities or inclusion for those without a car (ITEM, SEMiTaSS, UKERC 4). Electric car clubs enable more efficient EV use and reduce car ownership and dependency as evidenced in our policy brief produced in partnership with shared mobility industry body CoMoUK. E-cargo bikes act as a distinct sustainable transport mode, expanding accessibility and enabling new trips - not just replacing car journeys - thereby reshaping everyday mobility. They support solo and family travel, caregiving, last-mile deliveries and users are also motivated by their capacity to deliver well-being, enjoyment, and autonomy. They unlock latent demand and make low-carbon travel more appealing and feasible, thus supporting wider electric mobility transitions. (Azzouz et al., 2026b)
The focus of existing financial incentives on the purchase of brand-new EV models has been effective in influencing adoption but only in the new / leasing car markets.
New EVs are still typically more expensive than their ICE counterparts, even if there is a focus on non-luxury vehicles, so these policies disproportionately benefit higher-income households with greater purchasing power. Our research (e.g. Park and Charge, ITEM) leads us to conclude that middle- and low-income drivers cannot always afford an EV even with government assistance and may believe EV adoption is not for them until they can buy second-hand.
Flexible, creative incentive programmes can support more diverse groups to switch to EVs.
Our research with diverse groups ( Park and Charge, ITEM, ESO, ELEVATE, and SEMiTaSS) also identifies ways to target financial incentives to be more equitable and effective, including:
An example of the latter happening on an ad hoc basis relates to electrifying taxis (ITEM, ESO). In both Bristol and Oxford, the local authorities bundled government and local incentives for vehicles, charging, access and licensing to make EV adoption more attractive local taxi drivers. They also linked various relevant restrictions, such as on access to certain taxi ranks or future licensing, and there were instances of interest-free, Sharia-compliant financing for some Muslim taxi drivers. These packages were credited with boosting EV take-up among taxi drivers in both cities. In Oxford, the incentive-restriction policy bundles incited the EV switch among more than 24 drivers in the early stage of policy deployment.
VED and eVED may not deter early adopters but are likely to be seen as unfair by non-EV drivers unless the costs of the transition for specific groups of drivers match the benefits to them. (UKERC; ITEM: policy brief)
The cost of charging at public stations (particularly motorway hubs) can be equal to if not more expensive than purchasing fuel, potentially invalidating the Government’s narrative that the eVED should be about half the cost of fuel duty per mile paid by ICE vehicle drivers. Although most early adopters are not very price-sensitive (Azzouz et al., 2026a), mainstream adopters who cannot charge at home will be, particularly in terms of public charging on-street or in local car parks (Budnitz et al., 2024b). Furthermore, mileage and electricity taxes may put a disproportionate burden on delivery drivers, taxi drivers, and others who drive professionally (ESO), and could further undermine EV use by car clubs and community transport operations, which are already struggling financially (SEMiTaSS).
Therefore, adjustments to make eVED fairer could include:
Grants and other financial incentives (see response c.) could be made available for purchases on the second-hand market, or VED discounts applied when a used car is registered to a new ‘keeper’.
Our research (Park and Charge, ITEM) suggests buyers on the second-hand market are also concerned about battery health and range, maintenance, repair and insurance costs. The latter are high in part because EV drivers often are forced to return their vehicles to the manufacturer or authorised dealerships when technical issues arise, resulting in avoidable delays and higher repair costs. The Government could be addressed by the following actions:
Confidence can be instilled through trusted and consistent messaging on the quality and environmental benefits of EV technology.
Drivers need to be convinced that EVs are the future of driving (Budnitz et al., 2024a), not just a status symbol for wealthy ‘tech bros’. Mixed messages slow adoption – e.g. when the previous government under Prime Minster Rishi Sunak said the sale of ICE vehicles could continue until 2035. Given the crisis of confidence in Government, it may be appropriate to work through third sector organisations like the Energy Savings Trust (ITEM). Topics to consider addressing include:
Once consumers are on board and start thinking about EV adoption, they will consider the practicalities of driving and charging an EV (Budnitz et al., 2024a). At this point, they need to be confident in the availability and reliability of public charging (see responses g. and h.).
In our view, national Government’s role is to support grid connections and subsidise charging infrastructure that may not be commercially viable or may require pump-priming to become commercially viable. This includes locations where current adoption rates are low or charging infrastructure installation costs are high.
Local public, private, and third sector organisations are building a track record in installing EV charging but have encountered obstacles the Government can help them overcome.
To effectively target funding for EV charging infrastructure, the government should continue to pump-prime innovative projects and provide ongoing support for tendering and procurement, which has often caused delays (Park and Charge; SEMiTaSS). Oxfordshire County Council successfully worked in partnership with the private sector, including a number of local SMEs to deliver public charging in rural market towns and villages (Park and Charge), for fleet and taxi drivers (ESO), and for electric car clubs (SEMiTaSS). Not only did these projects deliver charging hubs, but they also helped the SMEs expand and develop operational capabilities. ESO and SEMiTaSS also explore integration with energy infrastructure, future-proofing for decentralised and community energy systems, V2X, and shared, autonomous, electric vehicle hubs.
To accelerate adoption among women, rural drivers, drivers with disabilities, and other non-early adopter groups, public charging infrastructure must be safe, secure, affordable and accessible to all.
We have discussed affordability data, spatial and social equity, and other issues with the Department for Transport, Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles, and arms-length bodies such as the Energy Systems and Connected Places Catapult over the years, as our research (ITEM; UKERC) highlighted gaps, such as:
The DfT and other Government departments and local authorities can address these issues through measures such as:
The trans-European ITEM project allowed us to gain insights from our partners, including:
Finally, in many countries (e.g. in Asia), many inexpensive EV models are available and electricity is cheaper, making it less of a ‘privilege’ enjoyed by only those who can afford it.
Drs Azzouz, Bhagavathy and Budnitz would be happy to provide further clarification and/evidence should the Committee require it.
Budnitz, H., Meelen, T., Schwanen, T. (2024a) Electric vehicle adoption intentions among UK residents parking in shared and public spaces. Transportation.
Budnitz, H., Meelen, T., Schwanen, T. (2024b) Public residential charging of electric vehicles: An exploration of UK user preferences. European Transport Studies, 1, p.100004.
Collett, K.A., Bhagavathy, S.M. McCulloch, M.D. (2022) Geospatial analysis to identify promising car parks for installing electric vehicle charge points: An Oxford case study. Journal of Transport Geography, 101, p.103354.
Bhagavathy, S.M., Budnitz, H., Schwanen, T. McCulloch, M., 2021. Impact of charging rates on electric vehicle battery life. Findings, 2021(March).
Budnitz, H., Jaskólski, M., Knapskog, M., Lis-Plesińska, A., Schmidt, F., Szymanowski, R., van der Craats, J., Schwanen, T. (2025) Multi-level governance and modal thinking: tensions in electric mobility transitions in European cities. Transport Policy, 160, pp.63-72.
Hampton, S., Azzouz, L., Fawcett, T., Grunewald, P., Howey, D., Kumtepeli, V., Mould, T., Rose, T. (2023). Energy Superhub Oxford: final report. Energy Superhub Oxford.
Azzouz, L., Brand, C., Fawcett, T., Zhou, Z. Altaf, M. (2026a) Beyond the plug: Enhancing the user experience at public electric vehicle (EV) charging hubs. Insights from a multi-site UK study. Journal of Transport Geography, 131, p.104530.
Azzouz, L., Brand, C., Cass, N. Philips, I. (2026b) Miles with smiles: the role of e-cargo bikes in facilitating new personal and family-oriented travel and relevant beyond-utility motivations. Travel Behaviour and Society, 43, p.101217.
Budnitz, H., Hoefer, M. (2025) PLEASEM: A Tool to Measure PLace-based Estimated Advantages of Shared Electric Mobility. Findings, April.
Budnitz, H. (2024) From interest to evangelist: Accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles via distinct parking and charging practices in the United Kingdom. Energy Research and Social Science. p.103675.
January 2026
Endnotes
[1] Dr Budnitz found this when investigating Pathways to Net Zero for a consortium of Oxfordshire stakeholders.