While, we all know that the UK Government will impose a ban on new diesel and petrol vehicle sales from 2030 – eventually, there is scope for the growth of EVs in the future. Also, Vauxhall and Nissan’s factory expansions are predicted to drive further growth of EV sales in the UK. Currently, there are more than 132,000 new electric vehicles registered in the UK, a 28% year-over-year increase.
Further, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change suggests 1,170 charge points will be needed per 100km of road by 2030. However, the recent figures show the UK was less than half of its target with 570 charging points per 100km in 2019. To help meet this target, a Danish tech startup, Monta – an EV charging app has announced its expansion plans into the UK.
Locate nearby EV charging points
Monta wants to help the UK Government meet its target despite the national shortage of charging points. EV owners can use the app for free to find charging points near them. Also, they can track energy consumption usage as well as costs. The app integrates with over 20 popular charging brands in the UK, thereby minimising the risk of drivers from being out of range of a branded charging point. Monta’s new country manager and ex-Bolt exec Alok Dubey will oversee UK expansion plans.
“The UK is ready to go full electric, but it simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to support itself,” said Monta CEO, Casper Rasmussen. “Our mission is to change that. We believe people shouldn’t be held back from creating a more sustainable and healthier planet due to a lack of availability. We quickly realised that solving the problem in the long-term takes collaborative help from private businesses, EV owners and charge point manufacturers. Our app simply brings them all together in one community so that we can tackle this issue head-on.”
Alok Dubey said, “It’s incredibly gratifying to spearhead the company’s growth in the UK and support a more sustainable environment. The work Monta does in providing charge points and growing the electric vehicle charge, but the knock-on effects of creating a cleaner environment through a reduction of CO2 emissions, is what really motivates us to create change.”
He added, “The UK has really ambitious targets to support the sale of electric vehicles, but we know this can’t be done without the infrastructure to support this. By connecting potential charge point owners with installers and making it easier for EV owners to get from A to B, we’re looking forward to helping the UK complete its own journey towards a cleaner, brighter future.”
Eyes 400K users by 2022
Founded by Casper Rasmussen and Anders Pedersen, the Monta app already has over 6,000 active users and aims to reach 400,000 users by 2022. Since its debut in February, the app has helped make 50,000 EV charges. Based in Copenhagen, the Danish company has raised £4.2 million to date from the early investors in electric vehicle leader Tesla. Its app is available on both iOS and Android and as a web-based app as well. It connects business owners, site managers and private homeowners with charging point installers to help power electric vehicles.