With an estimated 620,000 electric vehicles and more than 440,000 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) currently on UK roads, the increasing demand for EV Charging Points continues to surge with more than 29,000 new vehicles registered in November 2022, an increase of 35.2% compared to the previous year and following a 23.4% rise in Oct 2022.
More EV’s mean more EV Charging points
The growth of the EV market is expected to accelerate even further in the coming years as the UK prepares itself for the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicle sales, with the sale of electric vehicles to outstrip traditional internal combustion by the end of 2022 as drivers look for cleaner and cheaper alternatives.
With increased demand across the market showing no signs of slowing, car makers such as Nissan, Tesla, Ford and Vauxhall have all expanded their model line-ups to include affordable plug-in models meaning more than 40% of existing models are available as a plug-in option, with Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz going one step further and developing their electric-only ID and EQ models respectively.
Increased demand for EV vehicles naturally brings with it the requirement for increased EV charging points. With the number of publicly accessible facilities standing at just over 34,000 across the UK, it is clear there is some way to go to meet the target of 300,000 by the end of the decade as part of the government’s £2.1 billion pound strategy to bring EV infrastructure to the masses and build on the previously announced £1.5 billion for construction of a network on UK motorways by 2035.
Although connected to the power grid and more often than not placed in convenient easy to access locations each EV charging point requires high-quality reliable communication capabilities and whilst fixed data networks are available across the country, this cannot be taken for granted given the complexities as well as both time and cost implications of running cables to hundreds, if not thousands of spaces in charging areas.
Wireless communication and antenna solutions provide a cost-effective solution to rapidly connect charging sites, whilst a consistent & reliable connection is essential to allow operators to monitor the status of each site in real-time, book maintenance, understand demand and ensure correct payment. In situations where fixed line connections are available, an additional wireless back can also help ensure a charge point remains operational. In this competitive market in which customers rely intensively on access to charging, long periods of downtime for CPOs could mean reputational damage along with lost revenue from non-operational sites.
Here at CTI we have designed and developed a comprehensive range of antenna solutions perfect for use across the EV charging industry.
From a Single Antenna such as our LTE or GNSS products, Combination Antennas or Multi-Input, Multi-Output (MiMo) solutions suitable for multiple technologies our products provide a reliable & consistent signal for data transfer.
Find out more about CTi and our communication & tracking antennas, bespoke cables and telematics solutions and accessories by clicking here