The number of public electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the UK has increased to 32,011, as of 1 July 2022.
This is up 6%, or 1,721, from April 2022, according to new statistics from the Department of Transport, with the number of rapid devices increasing by 480, or 9%, to 5,974.
Since 1 July 2021, this represents a 31% increase in the number of public devices, or 7,637. While the number of rapid devices also increased by 31% with an additional 1,423.
“We’re seeing more and more drivers in the UK switching to electric vehicles which is fantastic news for the planet,” said Csilla Heim, UK country director at Easee.
“But one of the biggest barriers stopping more drivers from investing in a battery-powered car is a lack of public chargers. This data shows that progress is being made, but over the last few years it has been uneven across the country, with some areas seeing far slower growth than others. This needs to change so that the transition to electric vehicles becomes as accessible as possible for as many people as possible.”
The spread of chargepoint installations is still geographically uneven, with London and Scotland having the highest levels of charging provision with 116 and 55 devices per 100,000 people, respectively. The average provision in the UK was 48 per 100,000.
Meanwhile Northern Ireland was the only region to see its number of chargepoints reduce over recent months, with a 5.7% drop between April and July. There are 17 devices per 100,000 in Northern Ireland – the lowest of any region, followed by the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber with 27 and 29 devices per 100,000, respectively.
Apart from Northern Ireland, all other regions saw an increase in the number of chargers between April and June 2022. North East had the greatest increase at 14.2%, and Scotland the smallest at 1.2%.
London had the greatest increase in the absolute number of devices installed at 462, contributing 27% of the increase in devices across the UK in this period.
As the uptake of EVs in the UK continues to grow, more public chargepoints will be needed across the country. A recent survey from Shell Recharge Solutions, found that almost half of EV drivers want to see improved chargepoint availability.
