The DfT has today released statistics on the number of publicly available electric vehicle charging devices in the UK for Jan-March 2024. Data is provided by the EV and charging point platform Zapmap.
As of 1 April 2024, there were 59,670 public EV charging devices installed in the UK, within which:
Charging Speed:
• 11,590 had 50kW of power or above = 19% of all charging devices
• 35,339 had a power rating of 3kW up to 8kW = 59% of all charging devices
Location:
• 27,583 were designated as ‘destination’ chargers = 46% of all charging devices
• 22,199 were designated as ‘on street’ chargers = 37% of all charging devices
Compared to 1 January 2024:
• total installed devices increased by 5,993 = increase of 11%
• there was an increase in the number of public charging devices in all regions of the UK
Compared to 1 April 2023:
• total installed devices increased by 19,520 = an increase of 49%
Across all speeds, there is an uneven geographical distribution of charging devices within the UK. Some UK councils have bid for government funding for charging devices, and others haven’t. Most provision of this infrastructure has been market-led, with individual charging networks and businesses choosing where to install devices.
London and Scotland had the highest level of charging provision per 100,000 of population, with 221 and 93 devices per 100,000 res-pectively. In comparison, the average provision was 89 per 100,000.
Northern Ireland had the lowest level of charging device provision in the UK, with 29 devices per 100,000, followed by the North West and Yorkshire and Humber, each with 53 devices per 100,000.
Meanwhile, the variation in 50kW and above device provision shows that Scotland had the highest rate of 50kW and above device provision at 24.2 charging devices rated 50kW and above per 100,000, whilst the average provision in the UK was 17.3 per 100,000. 50kW and above charging device provision was lowest for Northern Ireland with seven charging devices rated 50kW and above per 100,000. London was the second lowest region with 13 charging devices rated 50kW and above per 100,000.
The maps show the geographic variation in charging devices at 1 April 2024, with the number of devices labelled on each area of the map corresponding to a UK region or country.
Matas Buzelis, car expert at vehicle history checking service carVertical, comments: “More public EV chargers are becoming available every month, but their uneven spread around the country is holding back sales.
“While people who spend most of their time driving round a major town or city may find the move to an EV a logical next step, this is not the case for those who often do longer journeys.
“Availability varies hugely by region, and while London has 221 public devices per 100,000 people, there are just 53 in the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber.
“Not only does this directly impact people living in the parts of the country with fewer available chargers, it suggests that people would struggle to power their car during a long journey or while holidaying in a different region.
“It doesn’t help that many UK households are even unable to charge their cars at home because they don’t have a garage, driveway or dedicated parking space.
“This lack of infrastructure in certain areas hurts public perceptions of EVs and is playing a part in slowing down sales. Price also remains a barrier, although manufacturers are increasingly introducing more affordable models, and used EV prices are falling rapidly as this portion of the market expands.
“Unfortunately the rapid depreciation in EV prices means the monthly cost of leasing these types of vehicles is increasing, making them less accessible.
“Anyone enticed by falling prices and planning to buy a used EV should check the car’s history before parting with their cash to ensure they have not been clocked or damaged. Our research shows that EVs are more likely to have their mileage tampered with than any other type of car on the UK roads.
“Newer cars are often equipped with digital systems which can be easier to tamper with via special devices. Unfortunately, con artists are up-to-date with all the techniques that can let them sell cars for more money than they’re worth.”
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