Electric vehicle drivers are increasingly turning to ultra-rapid charging devices and charging hubs as the roll-out in the UK continues.

While rapid chargers (25-99kW) are still used by the most EV drivers overall, the usage of ultra-rapid chargers jumped to 27% of EV drivers  – up from just 16% in the previous survey

A new Zap-Map survey found that while rapid chargers (25-99kW) are still used by the most EV drivers overall, the usage of ultra-rapid chargers jumped to 27% of EV drivers  – up from just 16% in the previous survey.

The rise comes as the vast majority of EV drivers (93%) continue to use the UK’s public charging networks, and 40% use public chargers at least once a week.

Zap-Map said the increase in ultra-rapid charger usage is being driven by the growing number of devices available – up by 60% in 2021. However, it also provides a clear indication that the new ultra-rapids are fulfilling demand from EV drivers travelling longer distances, with most new EVs now able to charge at the higher speed.

The survey also highlights the growth in the popularity of EV charging ‘hubs​’ and also found that networks installing these charging hubs saw particularly high increases in demand from EV drivers. InstaVolt, for example, leapt up to 42% of EV drivers – from 26% previously. The Gridserve Electric Highway, with 29%, proved popular for its first year, while high-power networks​ Ionity and Osprey also saw remarkable increases in the proportion of EV drivers using their chargers.

Melanie Shufflebotham, Zap-Map co-founder and COO, welcomed the survey’s findings that ultra-rapid chargers and charging hubs across the UK in 2021 are being used by an increasing proportion of EV drivers.

“We know that EV charging use cases are diverse, as the survey makes clear, and we absolutely need a range of charge speeds to match them. However, amongst other considerations, the demand for high-power chargers revealed in this report indicates that ultra-rapid chargers and charging hubs continue to be a crucial area of investment – for the simple fact that they make long journeys easier.”

However, while charging hubs demonstrated the most growth in terms of usage, supermarkets and motorway service areas retained the top two positions, with 52% and 50% of respondents respectively saying they regularly used these types of location.

Retail and public car parks also remain popular locations for charging, although usage has dipped in the last year.

Other key findings from the survey include high satisfaction among EV drivers, who are increasingly confident about driving long distances, with less than 1% wanting to go back to petrol or diesel.

It also includes the latest top 18 ranking of charging networks based on driver satisfaction, with the Top 3 networks being InstaVolt, MFG EV Power and Osprey.