The Competition & Markets Authority has attempted to settle fears that the roll out of electric vehicle charging points will be scuppered by existing advertising contracts held by JCDecaux, which could prevent other companies from offering ads on EV points.
The intervention comes in the form of an open letter, which states: “The CMA has been made aware that some local authorities and local transport bodies have mistakenly understood that any agreement that they have for JCDecaux to exclusively install street furniture, such as bus stops, that incorporates ad screens would prevent other firms from installing on-street EV chargers that include an ad screen within that local area.”
The CMA goes on to say it was “concerned” that this may be negatively impacting competition in on-street advertising as well as slowing the roll-out of public EV charging infrastructure.
JCDecaux’s confirmation is in accordance with voluntary assurances given by the outdoor giant and rival Clear Channel to the Office of Fair Trading way back in 2012.
The CMA added: “We are now calling on local authorities and local transport bodies to review their arrangements to ensure that they are not mistakenly being interpreted as preventing innovative providers of EV charging infrastructure from investing in local communities to help the transition from petrol and diesel vehicles to EVs.
“Should your authority look to introduce or renew any exclusive arrangements in relation to advertising on street furniture, we are further asking that you consider the scope of those arrangements and that relevant teams understand what those arrangements mean in practice.”
As of October 2024, there were just 70,000 public EV charging points in the UK, and, although this is a 32% increase since the end of 2023, there are an estimated 1.3 million electric cars on British roads.
The market is now dominated by the fleet car sector; fewer than one in six new EVs bought in April 2024 went to consumers, whose uptake volumes fell by -21.9%.
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