Plans to install hundreds of thousands of additional charging points for electric vehicles are to be announced by the transport secretary.

Chris Grayling will unveil proposals aimed at making it easier to recharge electric vehicles than refuel those running on petrol or diesel, in an attempt to increase the take-up of ultra-low emission vehicles.

The initiatives in the government’s road to zero strategy include more money for charging infrastructure and the need to assess whether new homes and offices should be required to install charging points.

The strategy calls for new street lighting columns on UK roads with on-street parking to have charging points in appropriate locations.

The government is also expected to outline more details of its ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040.

Hybrids and electric vehicles made up 5.5% of the UK’s new car market in the first six months of this year, compared with 4.2% during the same period in 2017.

Grayling will say: “The road to zero strategy, combined with the measures we’ve already introduced, will mean Britain now has one of the most comprehensive support packages for zero-emission vehicles in the world.

“We want the UK to become the best country in the world in which to develop and manufacture zero-emission vehicles.

“The prize is not just a cleaner and healthier environment, but a UK economy fit for the future and the chance to win a substantial slice of a market estimated to be worth up to £7.6tn by 2050.”

A study for the RAC Foundation found growth in electric car use could be stalled by limitations in the public charging network.

The mass-market appeal of ultra-low emission vehicles may be restricted without widespread, reliable and easy-to-use charging points, the report said.

Separate AA research showed eight out of 10 drivers see the lack of charging points as a stumbling block to them buying an electric vehicle.

Edmund King, the AA president, said: “A big push on a range of slow, fast and rapid charging points should help overcome this hurdle.

“The challenge is then for manufacturers to make a car worth buying. These road to vision zero proposals are a step in the right direction, but there is still much to do to wean drivers off petrol and diesel cars.”