At the end of June there were 930,000 UK chargers, according to ChargeUK, a lobby group. However, the majority of these have been installed in homes or at business premises and there are only about 65,000 public chargers available – these include ultra-rapids at motorway service stations or much slower chargers that are located on lamp-posts.
ChargeUK said that a new public charger was installed every 25 minutes in the spring quarter, while according to figures from the data company Zapmap, 5,100 public chargers were installed during the second quarter of 2024.
The accelerated roll out of charging points will certainly help to assuage consumer perceptions that a lack of charging points is preventing them from purchasing EVs.
Vicky Read, the chief executive of ChargeUK, said that the UK’s charging sector has, “grown to become a major player in the green economy, providing the infrastructure that more than a million EV drivers rely.”
According to this analysis it appears that the target set by the previous Conservative government of 300,000 public charge points by 2030 is going to be met.
However, the charge point industry remains concerned that the pace could slow if the new Labour government fails to speed up connections to the electricity grid, while making it easier to receive permits and planning approvals for public chargers.