Glasgow City Region secures £3.5 million to accelerate the delivery of public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI)
The eight councils across Glasgow City Region have secured funding of up to £3.5 million from Transport Scotland to support the acceleration of new electric vehicle (EV) charge points.
The funding, and a new collaboration agreement in place with the local councils on the expansion of the local EV charging network, should see over 3,000 additional charge points installed over the coming years.
These new charge points will be delivered by a private sector operator, appointed by the councils, and include a mixture of charging speeds, installed across the City Region.
Susan Aitken, Glasgow City Region Cabinet Chair and Leader of Glasgow City Council said:
“Electric vehicles are to key to reducing carbon emissions and the expanded charging network this funding will deliver can persuade more citizens across the City Region to switch to electric.
“And in creating a comprehensive network of charge points across Scotland’s most populous communities we can make a real impact on our national climate targets.”
The scale of the opportunity to deliver an expansion of the charging network across the eight council areas represents an attractive market offering and should bring benefits to residents in communities throughout the City Region.
Over the coming months the eight councils will be working intensively to scope the shape of proposal that will go to the market, with the goal of enabling a comprehensive network of EV charging across the region. This includes widening access to charge points for the thousands of people who live in flats and can’t charge at home, as well as providing charge points in areas that typically may not be attractive to the private sector, enabling a more just transition zero emission forms of transport.
The eight local councils are East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire Council.
The local councils will now scope and finalise a delivery plan, identifying potential sites for new charge points and will then procure a private sector partner as Charge Point Operator.
Background
- The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (EVIF), delivered by Transport Scotland, was designed to leverage in over £60 million of private investment and to expand Scotland’s public electric vehicle charging network in a way that is aligned to the Scottish Government’s “Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network”.
- All eight of the Glasgow City Region Member Authorities have collaborated in order to strategically expand the EVCI network and use local authority owned assets to support the development of a comprehensive charging network.
- The Glasgow City region collaboration applied to Transport Scotland’s EVIF fund in September 2025, requesting a total of £3.5 million funding. This request was informed by the creation of a Regional Strategy and Expansion Plan and data from the Scottish Futures Trust feasibility model.
- EVIF will be used by the local authorities to draw in private investment to expand the public charging network specifically in areas where commercial investment would not be viable on its own, thus supporting a just transition.
- EVIF is intended to help local authorities to develop partnerships with private sector operators (CPOs), to expand the current EV Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) network as well as provide a back-office service to replace Charge Place Scotland (CPS), who currently provide this service to the existing EVCI network. CPS will cease to provide this function to local authorities beyond December 2025.
- More detail on EVIF can be found on Transport Scotland’s webpage.
