Zap-Map has revealed its annual public charging network satisfaction rankings, with Fastned and MFG EV Power coming in joint first place.

The survey saw record responses from more than 4,300 EV drivers

More than 4,000 EV drivers rated the UK’s public charging networks for this year’s research, which marks the fifth annual survey.

Respondents evaluated their overall satisfaction for the networks they charge at regularly; used to rank each network out of a maximum of five stars. They also assessed their level of satisfaction with the networks in five key areas: reliability, ease of use, customer support, value for money and payment options.

Fastned and MFG EV Power – both ultra-rapid charging networks with hubs featuring multiple chargers at each location – scored particularly highly for reliability and ease of use, securing the ‘Best EV Charging Network’ badge.

They were followed by the InstaVolt rapid network, while Connected Kerb and Osprey come in joint fourth – meaning all three networks earn the ‘EV Driver Recommended’ title.

Six new entrants featured in this year’s league table; including European operator Fastned, which has recently been expanding its UK charging network and opened a handful of ultra-rapid hubs this year. It entered the list in joint-first place.

Mer, a partner in Zap-Map’s Zap-Pay scheme, also made the league table for the first time, coming joint-seventh alongside Pod Point and Shell-owned Ubitricity.

Further new entrants were Be.EV, VendElectric and Dragon Charging, coming in at joint-10th, joint-12^th and joint-15th respectively.

ChargePlace Scotland – which holds joint-12th place overall – took first place for cost, thanks to many of its extensive network of charge points currently being free to use.

But there were some losers as well and two networks to have slipped down the table since last year: Gridserve Electric Highway and GeniePoint. From joint-fifth last year, Gridserve Electric Highway now comes in at joint-10th, while GeniePoint dropped from 11th place last year to 19th position overall. The two networks, which both operate a large number of chargers across the country, scored lower on reliability than last year – but it’s an area both operators are working hard to improve upon.

The Tesla network was excluded from the ranking as the majority of charge points are only available to Tesla drivers.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder & COO at Zap-Map, said: “Already this year we’ve seen huge change across the industry, from strong EV sales through to high growth in ultra-rapid infrastructure, and of course significant price fluctuations at the charge point due to rising energy costs.

“Despite this, it’s clear that factors such as reliability and ease of use continue to be the most important in contributing to a good charging experience. These should be top priorities across all the UK’s public charging networks.

“However, the Zap-Map survey shows that while many networks provide a dependable, easy-to-use service, others have room for improvement. As EVs increasingly enter the mainstream, it’s crucial that collectively we make public charging as simple and reliable as possible.”

Zap-Map’s 2022 user ratings for UK public EV charging networks: 

* Overall rating calculated to one decimal place for overall ranking

** Star rating rounded to nearest 0.5 for display

Only networks which has a minimum of 50 responses were included in the rankings

Networks with the same ranking are shown in alphabetical order