There are more public electric vehicle charging points in Herefordshire than there were two years ago, new figures show.

With battery electric vehicles planned to account for all car sales by 2035, the Government has faced criticism from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which says there are not enough charging points for many people to purchase electric vehicles.

Department for Transport figures show there were 68 publicly provided charging points in Herefordshire on January 1 – up from 63 the year prior and 53 two years ago.

They were among 28,375 installed across the UK at the start of this year, up from 16,505 in January 2020.

Herefordshire residents had also installed 739 at-home charging points through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme as of January 1 – a 121 per cent increase over the last two years, further Department for Transport figures outline.

The scheme gives applicants a 75 per cent grant towards the cost of installing the charging point up to £350.

There have also been 77 charging points installed at workplaces.

But with residents requiring “designated, private off-street parking” for the Homecharge Scheme, the SMMT has argued for more investment for those who only have on-street parking available.

Separate figures from the SMMT show there are now more than 460,000 battery-electric cars in the UK, more than double the number two years before.

On average, an electric car will emit around one-third less carbon dioxide than an equivalent petrol or diesel car, Transport & Environment, a European clean transport campaign group, says.

But a lack of charging points is putting people off from switching, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes argues.

The Government announced major investment plans in charging infrastructure last month, totalling £1.6 billion across a range of schemes.

By 2030, the Government aims to provide 300,000 public charging points, 18 times the number a decade previously.