Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) should be banned from using electric vehicle (EV) charging bays, freeing them up for use by ‘pure’ EVs, according to a new report.

Most PHEVs on sale today are limited in the charge rate they can accept to around 3.7kW, yet the fastest rapid chargers deliver at least 50kW, a rate accepted by most pure EVs. That means it generally takes around five minutes for an EV to receive 15 miles worth of charge, while a PHEV would take an hour to receive the same range.

EV charging infrastructure expert Harold Dermott argues that – until PHEVs “have both a greater electric-only range and can accept electricity at faster rate” – they should be banned from using charging bays at motorway services areas.

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Writing in a report for the RAC Foundation entitled Development of the UK Public Chargepoint Network, Dermott expresses concern that if PHEVs continue to block EVs from using rapid charging bays, the charge points will “never be available for their essential purpose of charging BEVs [battery electric vehicles]” and the income of network operators will “collapse”.