London Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan Missing One Key Ingredient

IMI welcomes Mayor of London's plans, but urges the inclusion of a focus on skills for those working on electric vehicles too.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, set out his plans yesterday (17th June 2019) to get London ready for an electric revolution in the capital’s transport. To tackle the twin dangers of London’s toxic air crisis and the climate change emergency, the Mayor brought together the public and private sector to deliver the electric vehicle infrastructure Londoners need.

The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), welcomes the initiative by the Mayor of London which it believes is crucial to achieve the sea-change in urban mobility. However, IMI Chief Executive, Steve Nash, is concerned the plan only focuses on the charging infrastructure and did not address the current gap in skills for those likely to need to work on electric vehicles in the future.

“The IMI has been championing the setting of standards to ensure that technicians are appropriately qualified to work on electrified vehicles through the IMI TechSafe banner. And we are keen that the Mayor of London endorses this standard so that motorists adopting this new technology can have confidence that those working on their vehicles are safe. By adopting a standard for those working on electric vehicles that people can trust, we also believe that the costs of insuring and servicing electric vehicles will come down, making them accessible to all.”

With a clear focus on the challenges facing motorists and the insurers and garages supporting them, and working with an industry-wide group, the IMI has created the EV Professional Standard to give technicians an easy way to certify their EV competence through the IMI TechSafe banner.