Millions invested in new electric car charging points in London

Thousands more car charging points are to be built in London
Jamie Nimmo20 February 2017

London's electric car scene is set to be jump-started by a major funding round to fit thousands more charging points across the capital.

One of the fast-growing electric car industry’s major players has unveiled a £9 million programme to install its charging stations in London and other parts of the UK.

POD Point’s biggest funding round to date comes amid growing concerns about air quality in the capital and calls from Mayor Sadiq Khan to scrap diesel cars.

Founder and chief executive Erik Fairbairn said the backing from heavyweight investors including Barclays is a “massive step” for electric cars in London, which is by far the company’s biggest market.

“It shows that some serious investors now have confidence that what we’re doing is really working,” he added.

Last week, the UK was given a two-month warning by the European Commission to comply with EU air pollution limits or risk a heavy fine.

The high levels of pollution in London have prompted the Mayor to urge the Government to introduce a £500 million scrappage scheme to convince diesel car owners to go green.

Industry figures released earlier this month showed that fewer than 79,000 diesel cars were sold in the UK last month, 4.3 per cent fewer than in January last year, and sales of electric cars and hybrid vehicles jumped 20 per cent.

Most of POD Point’s investment came from Barclays Capital and Draper Esprit, the venture capital firm best known for investing in Elon Musk’s electric car maker Tesla.

There is also a £1.5 million crowdfunding initiative to allow fans of electric cars to invest.

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