New data from Zap-Map and Admiral Car Insurance has revealed that Nottingham has the most rapid and ultra-rapid chargers in the UK.
The city is followed by Milton Keynes, Leeds, Birmingham and Coventry – although Zap-Map said Nottingham has a “fairly comfortable lead”.
It has 122 rapid and ultra-rapid chargers as of the end of April, while Milton Keynes has over 106. Leeds has 77, Birmingham has 73 and Coventry has 71 – although the latter is solely from rapid chargers, with Coventry not having any ultra-rapid chargers.
In total, Nottingham has 92 rapid chargers and 30 ultra-rapid, while Milton Keynes has 100 rapids and 6 ultra-rapids, Leeds has 60 rapids and 17 ultra-rapids and Birmingham has 34 rapid and 39 ultra-rapids.
Zap-Map said the increase in ultra-rapid chargers seen over the past year is particularly important for EV drivers undertaking longer journeys, with a 74% increase in the number of ultra-rapid chargers between April 2021 and April 2022.
Indeed, a recent survey from Zap-Map found that the use of ultra-rapid chargers has jumped to 27% of EV drivers compared to 16% the year before.
Zap-Map said that with this increase in ultra-rapid chargers in mind, Admiral has partnered with Zap-Map to help drivers find the location of the country’s fastest EV charging points.
“There are of course a range of different needs when it comes to charging an EV, but continued investment in high-powered chargers for longer journeys is crucial as the number of EVs on the road continues to grow at pace.
“Nottingham may well be leading the charge in this area right now, but it will certainly be interesting to see which city takes the top spot in two years’ time,” Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and COO at Zap-Map, said.
A number of EV charging companies are deploying ultra-rapid chargers, with GRIDSERVE’s Electric Forecourts featuring 350kW chargers, while MFG is planning on rolling out 60 hubs, with each to have between four and eight 150kW chargers.
Meanwhile, last year Manchester’s first ultra-rapid EV charging hub opened.
A focus is also being placed on ultra-rapid charging at motorway service areas (MSAs), with the government’s Rapid Charging Fund to deliver six high-power, open access EV chargepoints at MSA by 2023 and 6,000 in total by 2035.
IONITY has also installed high-power charging at all Extra MSA Group MSAs across the country, with 38 charging points with a high-speed charging capacity of up to 350kW in place.
