Commissioner proposes new targets for electric cars

Date: 25/1/2013

European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas has announced plans to bring in targets for EU countries on the number of charging points for electronic cars that should be installed.

He said that he hoped it would help to boost the uptake of this type of vehicle, as 94 per cent of transportation in Europe runs on oil, which is mainly imported.

As part of his Clean Power for Transport package, Commissioner Kallas called for all of the charging points to feature the same plug format so that a European standard is introduced.

The current number of charging points in the UK is 703, but under these new plans that figure could rise to as many as 120,000 by the year 2020.

Commissioner Kallas has estimated that the cost of putting green transport infrastructure in place will be €10 billion (£8.5 billion) over the next seven years, while the EU currently spends €1 billion a day on importing oil.

He did, however, suggest that EU funding could be available so that "member states will be able to implement these changes without necessarily involving public spending".

Also included in the package were measures to use more liquified petroleum gas in the shipping sector and greater use of biofuels all round.

Commissioner Kallas stated the aim as: "Developing innovative and alternative fuels is an obvious way to make Europe‘s economy more resource efficient, to reduce our overdependence on oil and develop a transport industry which is ready to respond to the demands of the 21st century."

Plans for electric cars outside of the EU are pressing ahead, with China and the US expecting to have a combined total of six million electric vehicles on the road by 2020.

Meanwhile, plans for an extensive rollout of electric cars are only present in 13 of the EU's 27 member states.

In order for Commissioner Kallas' proposals to pass into law they must be endorsed by the member countries and the European Parliament.

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News