Electric vehicle charging sites have outnumbered petrol stations for the first time, new data from Zap-Map has revealed.
Zap-Map, which collates EV charging infrastructure data, has said that as of 22 May there were 8,471 separate EV charging locations across the UK, surpassing the total number of petrol stations – 8,400 – as of the end of April.
And that difference only stands to grow further, with petrol stations on the decline and EV charging installations deploying with increasing pace.
Zap-Map also notes that the number of EV charging sites has grown by 57% over the last year, and there are now more than 13,600 individual charging devices in the UK.
Ben Lane, co-founder and CTO at Zap-Map, said that the growth was attributable to both public and private sectors now investing heavily in charging infrastructure.
“This month’s milestone reveals of the rapid pace of change already underway as the age of the combustion engine gives way to an all-electric era with vehicles offering both zero-emissions and a better driving experience,” he said.
Zap-Map, which earlier this year sold a stake in its business to clean energy supplier Good Energy, also pointed to a growth in the range of charging technologies on the market, citing new 350kW chargers from the likes of IONITY.
Good Energy chief exec Juliet Davenport also lauded the milestone, arguing that climate action requires EVs to “go mainstream” in such a fashion.
“This milestone shows how rapidly we are moving in that direction, away from polluting petrol and diesel cars. We still have a long way to go but the future of transport is electric,” she said.
Both Ben Lane and Juliet Davenport spoke to Current± following Good Energy’s purchase of a stake in Zap Map in March, detailing where they expected the deal to take their respective companies.
