This new road sign is coming to England very soon…

Motorists have been told to expect new signs popping up at the side of roads in the not-too-distant future.

The Department for Transport has confirmed the signage will shortly begin to appear on A-roads in England to support drivers of one particular type of vehicle.

Unique EV charging signage has been confirmed by the Transport Secretary to point owners of battery cars to the nearest public charging hubs dotted across the nation’s major road network.

There are more than 300 of these charging hubs in England, each with six or more ‘rapid’ 50kW-plus charging device, many of which also have ‘ultra-rapid’ chargers that can bolster a compatible EV’s battery from 10 to 80 per cent in around half an hour.

They are typically located on or near motorways or major roads where short charging times are at a premium and typically have at least a coffee shop attached. 

Funding for signage is part of an increase in Government spending announced by ministers over the weekend, which will see £63million rolled out to bolster EV charging, including a £25million scheme for local authorities to install cables that run beneath pavements to allow drivers living in flats and terraced houses to charge at home safely.

Tomorrow, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to reveal the reintroduction of an EV purchase grant in an effort to accelerate waning demand.

Officials hope the introduction of EV charging road signs along with the range of other measures will encourage more drivers to switch to electric motoring.

Concerns over the ability to recharge EVs on long journeys have been blamed for some motorists being reluctant to move on from petrol or diesel cars.

The DfT has yet to confirm what the new roadside furniture directing people to EV charging hubs will look like. 

Currently, there’s little signage to show EV owners where hubs are located – or how much they’ll be paying to charge at motorway service stations.

In 2021, EG Group became the first chargepoint operator to introduce forecourt poles with per unit charging prices at its ultra-rapid chargers. By last year, 50 of its sites had pricing information displayed on filling station-style totem poles. 

Alexander said the Government’s new measures will make it ‘easier and cheaper’ to own an EV.

The £25million residential street charging scheme is a major factor in this, as the ability to safely run EV charging cables under the footpath – preventing a trip hazard for pedestrians – should attract more people to EV ownership because they will be able to access cheaper household electricity rates for recharging, rather than using more expensive public chargers.

The latest AA Recharge Report for May shows that the typical EV owner who can charge at home using a domestic energy tariff pays just 6.1p per mile. 

In contrast, those forced to use even the slowest public devices are paying nearly double that (11.3p) while those using rapid devices can be paying as much as 19.6p per mile.

The AA said that – based on average unleaded prices in May – a petrol car owner is forking out only 11.6 a mile. 

Based on the savings estimated by the DfT, drivers can save up to £1,500 annually by charging an EV at home, compared with running a petrol or diesel car.

The Transport Secretary added: ‘We know access to charging is a barrier for people thinking of making the switch, and we are tackling that head-on so that everyone – whether or not they have a driveway – can access the benefits of going electric.’

AA president Edmund King welcomed the introduction of dedicated public EV charging signage, saying there are more chargers available than people realise but they are ‘often hidden in plain sight’.

He added: ‘Increasing signs for the public network is vital to help the EV transition as it will create confidence for drivers both now and in the future.’

Delvin Lane, chief executive of charging company InstaVolt, said the introduction of charging signage on major roads is a ‘crucial step’.

He added: ‘For years, we have emphasised that the UK’s public EV infrastructure, so critical to mass adoption, is already largely in place, and now this signage will finally showcase it to drivers in a visible, accessible way.’

Tom Middleditch, head of electric mobility at Europcar Mobility Group UK, said that it’s own research  in 2024 found that 89 percent of EV drivers and 73 per cent of non-EV drivers wanted to see the roll out of EV charging signage on A roads and motorways.

‘The DfT’s announcement will help address the fact that more often than not the infrastructure is available – it’s just that motorists don’t see the signs for it,’ he said.

New EV grant on its way? 

A new EV grant – thought to be worth around £640million – could mean money off the price of some fully electric cars.

It would see the return of purchase subsidies for the first time since 2022, when the former government prematurely terminated the Plug-in Car Grant – which had been available to EV buyers since 2011.

Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Heidi Alexander said: ‘We know the high upfront purchase cost of EVs is something people are wary about.

‘We’ve got to be honest and say there are a lot of people out there who think that EVs are just for the very wealthiest.

‘We also want to really move away from people having range anxiety, to people having range awareness and knowing that they’re going to be able to make the journeys that they want to make.

‘It’s right that the government thinks in the round about what we can do to tackle both of the issues, on charging and on the upfront cost of purchase.’

The biggest grants are likely to target UK-manufactured vehicles such as Nissan. 

The Government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030.