MPs on the Business Select Committee have called for the phase out of petrol and diesel vehicles to be brought forward by eight years.
The committee said the Government's current target of 2040 to make all new vehicles ‘effectively’ zero emission was 'vague and insufficient' and called for 'clear, precise target for new sales of cars and vans to be truly zero emission by 2032'.
Recently announced 'sudden and substantial cuts to the Plug-in Grant Scheme', were also criticised in the report - Electric Vehicles - driving the transition.
Earlier this month the Government announced that from 9 November the grant rate for Category 1 vehicles will move from £4,500 to £3,500 and Category 2 and 3 vehicles will no longer be eligible for the grant.
MPs recommended 'that purchase support for EVs should be maintained at October 2018 levels' until the cost of EVs nears price parity with conventional vehicles - thought to be around mid-2020s.
Electric vehicles should also receive preferential Vehicle Excise Duty rates and preferential rates on company car tax should be brought forward 'without delay', the MPs said.
Placing the burden on creating a national charging network on local authorities was also seen as too weak, and the committee recommended the Government develop a coordinated approach at least cost by December 2019.
A greater focus on the current shortfall in electric vehicle skills is a risk to workers lives, and demands more focus as well as nascent areas of research such as 'battery disposal and recycling', the report added.
Electric vehicle sales are expected to overtake petrol and diesel sales by the late 2030s.
A spokesman for the National Infrastructure Commission said: 'The committee are right to highlight the need for action now so that our infrastructure doesn’t dampen this growing demand.
'Through our National Infrastructure Assessment, we recommend the Government work with Ofgem and local authorities to create a truly national, visible charging network and ensure people can make the switch confident they will be able to charge their cars during or at the end of their journey – wherever in the country that is.'
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