Chargemaster, electric vehicle infrastructure specialists, has announced that its new Polar division will have established a public network of 4000 electric vehicle charging bays by the end of 2012.

This significant privately-funded initiative will see charging bays in over 100 towns and cities and along popular main routes in the UK. It is exactly the sort of boost that the government were hoping would kick-start flagging electric vehicle sales.

Without a national network, public confidence in electric vehicles has remained low, with many potential buyers put off by ‘range anxiety’. Reports that in actual usage electric cars will only travel about 80 miles between charges have caused motorists to remain sceptical about investing in a highly-priced new electric vehicle (EV).

This announcement means that a joined-up EV charging network is starting to emerge, following the government’s ‘Plugged-in-Places’ project designed to start building an EV infrastructure. We can now expect to see charging points in public car parks, residential developments, office car parks, businesses, shopping centres, supermarkets, railway stations and roadside restaurants.