- The annual EV charging survey from Zapmap, which was conducted during October, has revealed a number of valuable insights into the behaviours and opinions of electric car owners in the UK, particularly around the topic of EV charging.
- Surveying over 3,700 BEV drivers, the survey covered demographics, EV ownership, home charging, and public charging.
- The results show, among several insights, that the majority of EV drivers believe the state of public charging infrastructure has improved since last year – which confidently paves a way for mass EV adoption.
Public EV charging popularity and satisfaction on the rise
79% surveyed had a home charger installed. Still, some of these respondents still used public charging as part of their charging mix, with 51% of EV drivers reported to use public charging ‘at least once a month’. The top three most used networks by respondents, in order, were GRIDSERVE, InstaVolt, and BP Pulse. Like last year, motorway services remained the most popular public charging location, followed in second and third place by dedicated EV charging hubs and supermarket car parks.
Consumer satisfaction with public charging is also on the rise, painting a positive picture for both CPOs and OEMs alike. The average satisfaction score for public charging stood at 64%, while 61% of EV drivers believed that public charging has ‘improved since last year’. 33% believed it had stayed at the same level, while a small 7% believed that public charging had gotten worse. Just last month, Zapmap revealed the UK’s best ultra-rapid networks, based on similar consumer surveys.
On the wider EV adoption side, there were several promising pieces of data to draw out from Zapmap’s results. The proportion of respondents who owned both an ICE and EV has dropped from around 50% in last year’s survey to 44%, while the proportion EV only households rose to 56%. This shows an increased confidence amongst consumers that EVs can be used for all the same tasks as a conventional ICE-powered car. Those drivers are overwhelmingly spreading a positive word to their peers also, with owners giving EVs an average score of 83% when recommending them to friends and family.
You can view the key findings from Zapmap for free, here.
Jade Edwards, Head of Insights at Zapmap, commented:
“The UK’s public charging network is evolving rapidly to meet the needs of an ever-growing number of EV drivers, and this survey highlights the pivotal shifts shaping the future of mobility and charging. These insights provide guidance for businesses, local authorities, and charge point operators as they plan for the next phase of infrastructure development.
With motorway services and EV charging hubs now dominating as the most popular charging locations, our survey data shows how driver preferences are aligned with infrastructure investment.
As the UK transitions to electric, with now over 1.3 million BEVs on our roads, it’s good to see EV drivers reporting an increase in satisfaction with the charging infrastructure, however to further improve on this, it is more important than ever for reliable, accessible, and efficient charging options to be available in the right locations to support this transformation.”
