UK public charging network grows significantly in 2023

  • The number of public charging points in the UK increased 10% since April this year and an impressive 38% year-on-year, according to new statistics released by the Department for Transport.
  • The data, provided in association with Zapmap, goes into further detail of the locations and types of public charging being provided
  • However, the data emphasises how many more charging points the country still needs for the 2030 EV switchover

UK public charging points increase by 10% in three months and 38% in one year

The UK’s Department for Transport has released new data on public charging stations across the country. With the help of data provided by Zapmap, the material shows the state of the country’s charging network as of the start of this month.

The headline figure is that the total number of 44,020 public chargers increased by 3,870 compared to the 1st of April – a hefty 10% rise. More specifically, rapid chargers also increased by 11% in the same timeframe, with 8,461 now available.

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The year-on-year increase is also impressive, with the number of public chargers increasing by over 12,000 since last July – a 38% increase.

This rise was seen across all regions, albeit by differing levels. Looking at the three-month increases, Scotland saw just a 1.7% (66) rise in chargers, whilst the East of England saw a 26.1% (652) increase in the number of chargers available.

Are there enough public chargers?

The data also provided up-to-date figures on the number of chargers available per 100,000 people, down to specific regions. In London, there are now 152 public chargers available per 100,000 residents, but the lowest figure is in Northern Ireland where there are just 23 public chargers per 100,000 inhabitants.

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The 38% year-on-year growth from an extra 12,009 chargers is impressive for now, but if that number doesn’t increase over the next couple of years, the UK government will fall far short of its goal of 300,000 public chargers by 2030.

However, earlier this year, the government launched the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund, which has millions of pounds worth of funding. Private funding will also help significantly in achieving this goal. Just today, chargepoint operator GRIDSERVE announced over £500m worth of financing to push forward the charging infrastructure within the country.

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