The Infrastructure Gap Threatening Britain's EV Transition

The piece warns that the UK’s EV transition risks stalling outside cities due to constrained grid capacity at motorway service areas (MSAs). The National Audit Office finds only 10% of MSAs have sufficient grid capacity to meet projected charging demand by 2035, creating a bottleneck for long-distance and freight electrification. Roadchef has secured 75-year lease extensions at five sites and plans 1,000 EV charging bays by 2030, signalling private-sector readiness to invest if policy and grid upgrades follow. For markets, prolonged grid delays could slow demand for EVs and related industries, weigh on regional growth and infrastructure stocks, and create investment opportunities in grid upgrades and en-route charging providers if regulators accelerate reforms.