The Scottish Government has awarded £6.3m to group of eight local authorities to improve public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in the south of Scotland. The funding will support the installation of 1,770 additional public charge points across the region, with the councils working in partnership with the private sector.
The South of Scotland Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund project is being led by City of Edinburgh Council and includes Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian Councils.
This is the final award from the Scottish Government’s £30m Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said:
“I’m pleased to confirm the final award of £6.3m from our £30m Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund, which will help attract further private investment in our publicly accessible EV charging network.
“Our ambition to enable the delivery 24,000 additional public charge points by 2030 cannot be met without significant backing from the private sector. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund was designed to encourage this investment, meaning public funding can be targeted for areas which are less likely to benefit from stand-alone private investment - this includes more rural parts of Scotland, some of which will be served by the south of Scotland project led by City of Edinburgh Council.
“I look forward to hearing how the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund project helps drivers across the region make the switch to electric vehicles and, more widely, how it helps Scotland become a more attractive place to make zero emission transport choices.”
Scotland has one of the most comprehensive public charging networks in the UK, with over 7,100 public charge points. A target for 6,000 public charge points was met in October 2024, two years ahead of schedule.
Since 2011, the Scottish Government has invested over £65 million to support the development of Scotland’s public EV charging network. ChargePlace Scotland (CPS), funded by Scottish Government, was established over a decade ago as an early catalyst for the development of Scotland’s public EV charging network. Having achieved its objective of stimulating the early growth of public EV charging and supporting early adopters to make the switch to an EV, the model will now transition away from publicly subsidised provision towards increasing private sector responsibility for investing in and operating the public charging network across Scotland.
