Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced that the capital will get a further 100 ultra-rapid charge points, keeping it at the “forefront of the electric vehicle revolution”.

The capital now has more than 11,000 public charge points, of which 820 are rapid or ultra-rapid

City Hall has identified sites on the Transport for London Road Network which will be suitable for the extra charge points. The first 25 of these will be put out to tender on 30 November, and 75 more will follow by the end of April next year, with the aim for all 100 to be operational by the end of 2023.

The plans were announced on Thursday at the ‘Evening Standard Plug It In’ event at the Design Museum, where the Mayor also revealed that London now has the most public rapid charge points by volume and share of any European city.

The capital now has more than 11,000 public charge points, of which 820 are rapid or ultra-rapid. This is a third of the UK’s total and a 170% increase from 2019. It equates to one charge point for every four registered electric vehicles in London compared with the national average of one charge point for every 12 vehicles.

In his keynote speech, the Mayor said: “I’m in no doubt that the shift to electric vehicles is imperative to cleaning up our air and bringing down harmful emissions. As a city, we’ve travelled an impressive distance in a relatively short period of time in terms of rolling out the necessary infrastructure and encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles. But the gravity of the threats we face from the climate crisis and toxic air pollution demand that we now redouble our efforts and go even further, even faster.

“It’s vital we don’t take our foot off the pedal now and lose momentum. That’s why my administration has published its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy and set a target of quadrupling – at a minimum – the number of public charge points in London by 2030.”

More than 4,500 jobs are expected to be created to supporting charging infrastructure in London, plus thousands more nationwide.

The Mayor finished off with a call for greater collaboration between all those involved in the EV industry: “We must… deepen our collaboration. To make it easier and more convenient for Londoners to go electric. To establish our city’s reputation as a world leader in the delivery of charging points and infrastructure.

“And to ultimately build a better London for everyone – a city that is greener, safer, fairer and more prosperous for all.  This is my vision for the future of our city and its road network and I hope that, together, we can bring it to life and usher in a new, healthier, electric age for London.”