MEETING WITH MARK PYMM of WHATSUPP CONSULTING
17 April 2026
To be honest, every time I’ve sat down to write up this extraordinarily timely meeting, the landscape has changed. Just as our speaker, Chesterfield-based Mark Pymm, said it would in his fascinating talk.
Mark is a real pioneer. He started his first business back in 2004, made a success of it and sold part of it to OVO; started another, the award-winning ChargedEV and sold that one, too. Now he is putting his long expertise and commitment to work with his consultancy WhatsUpp, working across the EV ecosystem with installers, manufacturers, fleet owners, lease companies, energy retailers, platforms and investors.
When he contacted me last autumn the EV rollout was in the doldrums, with far fewer EVs being sold than Ed Miliband’s Net Zero campaign mandated and dealers heavily discounting to avoid fines. Then on 28 February President Trump launched Operation Epic Fury and in retaliation the Straits of Hormuz were closed by Iran. At the same time, Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries intensified, thus removing an alternative source of fuel. Global prices rocketed.. while those of us with EVs could sail past the scary prices at petrol stations with a faint shrug.
And the numbers of EVs sold went up, including second-hand models, some of which (the early Teslas for example) have free supercharging still. But the charging infrastructure could not change as quickly, though surely the level of trust in petrol and diesel as fuel has taken a significant hit.
So when Mark spoke to us in April, he explained that with 1.8 million EVs on the road there are only 88,500 public charging points – some 80% of all car charging is done at home, where it’s possible to take advantage of EV tariffs offering cheap overnight access, typically 3.4p/mile compared with petrol at around 12p/mile. That can make an EV seriously cheap to run. And with 70% fewer CO2 emissions, a significant contribution to the Net Zero goal (even better if the electricity itself is green).
During 2025, only 23.4% of all new cars registered were EVs; by March 2026 it had climbed to 26% and by the end of May to 27.3% (that’s battery EVs, not using other fuels at all). As I write, the millionth customer this year is taking delivery of a new electric vehicle if you count plug-ins and hybrids, with fully-electric cars comfortably leading the pack (data from SMMT).
Yet during 2025 the number of public EV chargers being installed actually fell by 30% compared with 2024 (13,469 compared with the previous year’s total of just under 20,000). That’s a big drop, so the ratio of EVs to chargers has deteriorated from 11:1 to 14:1. The official target is at least 300,000 charge points in operation by 2030 when the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will stop, with new hybrids being banned from 2035. If we are to move up from the current figure of under 90,000, somebody will have to get a move on.
I reckon three things deter drivers switching from petrol or diesel vehicles to electric: (i) inertia (we don’t like change); (ii) up-front cost – a decent EV is a lot more expensive than its equivalent, coupled with fear of lower second-hand value, so it feels like a gamble with your own money; and (iii) range anxiety. And that’s where our woefully inadequate charger infrastructure is such an obstacle.
So why – given that all recent governments have pushing – has the charger installation programme so lagged behind?
Several reasons, said Mark, none of which will be quickly resolved. Grid capacity is one. Building more clean power stations is taking aeons; the existing National Grid was built to service power stations on coalfields but offshore windfarms require a whole new transmission web (that’s also an issue holding up AI and data centres in the UK).
Fragmentation and lack of standards are also a bugbear, with dozens of networks, incompatible apps, varying connector types.. hopefully, over the next couple of years some standardization is likely; we’ve already seen that happen from vehicle manufacturers (I can charge my new Volkswagen ID4 on my home Tesla charger, for example). Reliability can be an issue with rapidly changing new products and makers. There’s a shortage of skills (as ever!) – not enough qualified electricians, and accreditation (two different certificates) takes time. That also means not enough operatives to keep existing chargers in good repair, with an estimated quarter out of action at any one time. Infuriating!
On the horizon, however, is a “technology curve”, Mark said. We will soon have 800v Ultra Rapid charging, taking only 18 mins to charge up to 80% (it’s already found in some locations but can be expensive to use). That could mean that some of the existing recently installed chargers might require upgrade or replacement – another headache. Some of the concerns about EVs are vanishing – early models, predicted to have battery life of under 5 years, are proving themselves far more resilient. He knows of a taxi driver who has so far clocked up 250,000 miles in his. And he’s expecting smart charging through AI and more V2G – that’s Vehicle to Grid, allowing cars to act as peak time surge providers to the Grid. Elon Musk has already waxed lyrical about this idea, as has Octopus. Technology will allow us to plug in, allow surge when everyone switches on their kettles, and resume charging afterwards. We’ll have wireless and automated charging – that can’t be far off. And much of Mark’s future focus is likely to be where the dearth still exists – HGVs, buses, taxis and how to charge them too.
Lots of questions followed – what about owners with no suitable driveway? That’ll mean kerb chargers, probably provided by the local authority; but changing the street furniture is going to need a big consistent push from government, I reckon. Some are ahead of the curve – East Cheshire is already insisting that all new build houses have EV chargers.
Why are EVs so fast? If they had slower acceleration, they could carry fewer batteries. The reason is probably the recent history of EVs especially Tesla, aimed at the affluent influencer rather than the old lady (I am both). But the Chinese have realised the market will expand with cheaper, smaller, lower-powered versions which are proving popular.
Why haven’t PSVs switched to electric? They have in some places – Chesterfield’s Stagecoach buses introduced a £31 million Zero Emissions fleet in July 2025 and are now installing a 1 Megawatt charger to give very rapid charging, “an exciting development,” said Mark. Travel abroad, however, and you’ll be struck by how far behind the UK seems to be right now.
Is the Grid robust enough..? Well, it’s getting better, he said. National Grid has just (May 1st) published its latest 10-year Development Plan https://electricalnews.co.uk/national-grid-dso-publishes-ten-year-network-development-plan/. They say, “Historic forecasting was shaped largely by population, housing, industrial load, and general economic activity. New demand can arrive through depot charging, rapid charging hubs, heat electrification, embedded generation, commercial batteries, data centres, and new industrial processes, often in concentrated locations that place pressure on specific feeders, transformers, or substations.” Solar’s record growth is making prediction even harder. But I couldn’t see an estimate of how many billions this is going to cost.
We could have talked all day. “This is not a green issue,” Mark insisted. “It’s a national security and energy independence issue.” He’s right – and that, in the end, will be how the public judge success or fail
ure in future.