The UK now has almost 20,000 more chargers installed than this time last year, new figures show.
This represents a 37 per cent increase on January 2024, according to the latest data from the Department for Transport (DfT) and ZapMap.
And while the overall growth in the number of charging points is very positive in itself, it’s particularly good news that ‘on-street’ chargers have increased, as this type of device has been considered lacking in the UK.
On street chargers – which allow people without driveways to charge locally on or near the streets they live – now account for 36 per cent of devices in the UK.
This is a 27 per cent rise compared to January 2024.
Phil Douglass, Vauxhall electric streets director, said the increase ‘is a particularly welcome boost for electric vehicle drivers without access to driveways or private charging’ amid the overall ‘encouraging’ DfT figures.
There are now 73,334 public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK; 41,678 (57 per cent) of which are between 3kW and 8kW, and 14,448 (20 per cent) of which are 50kW and above (fast to ultra-rapid chargers).
Some 49 per cent are ‘destination’ chargers – public charging stations at places where people spend extended periods of time or at the end of a journey.
The latest DfT figures show there’s still an ongoing issues with uneven charger distribution across the UK though – something This is Money has previously reported on.
The North-South divide when it comes to charging infrastructure rollout is still very much present with London having the highest provision of chargers per 100,000 of population, with 250 devices per 100,000.
This is far above the average of the UK which was 108 per 100,000.
Northern Ireland has the worst charger provision in the UK with just 36 devices per 100,000
The South East and South West of England hit 97 and 92 per 100,000 respectively, but both the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber have just 66 devices per 100,000.
Northern Ireland has the worst charger provision in the UK with just 36 devices per 100,000.
The North East though manages a healthy 96 per 100,000.
It is hopeful that with the number of charging devices increasing across all countries and regions in the UK, the disparity in charging provision across Britain will eventually level up.
The UK’s public charging targets: How many chargers do we need to install?
Based on existing infrastructure, the UK needs an average of 27,000 charger installations each year to hit the 2030 public charging ambition set out by ministers.
At the start of the year, the National Audit Office said that the number of public charge points was on track to meet Government target of 300,000 devices by 2030.
And ZapMap has confirmed that UK’s EV charging infrastructure had a record year of growth in 2024.
What is causing the public charger divide?
Chargepoint operator Believ surveyed 100 councillors from 100 authorities across England, Wales and Scotland between September and October 2023 and found that there’s huge disparity between local authorities’ budgets and planning across England which contributes to the North-South divide.
Analysing a mix of urban, rural and semi-rural authorities across five local government tiers, Believ revealed that twice as many councils in the North of England versus the South have significant funding issues.
A particular issue is the lack of dedicated EV personal and scarce resources: only 18 per cent of local authorities have a dedicated EV infrastructure team, relying on part-time staff only.
Chargepoint operator Believ found a third of local authorities have no formalised EV infrastructure plan
Some six per cent of councils have no-one working on infrastructure rollout.
The proportion of local authorities with dedicated resources has only risen by 4 per cent – from 14 per cent to the aforementioned 18 per cent, and those without any resource has almost doubled from 3 per cent to 5 per cent.
Believ’s CEO, Guy Bartlett, said: ‘There is no doubt local authorities need more support, more resources and more manpower for the EV charging infrastructure challenges they face.
‘But rather than rely on public sector funding, local authorities can look to the private sector who can plan, install and maintain charge point infrastructure at zero cost to local councils and help them benefit sooner from revenues generated.’
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