Motorway services and EV charging hubs have displaced supermarket car parks as the most popular charging locations in the UK, according to new research from Zapmap.

The survey reveals the ratio of EV drivers with a home charger, the types of places where EV drivers typically charge and the motivations behind them

More than half (55%) of respondents in its annual EV charging survey indicated they regularly stop at motorway services to charge, while 47% do so at EV charging hubs – these are up from 48% and 34% respectively last year.

Zapmap said the findings from the survey – now in its sixth year – show the increasing number of charging hubs – which Zapmap defines as groups of six or more rapid or ultra-rapid devices – that are opening across the country. At the end of November 2022, for instance, Zapmap data shows there were 99 open-access charging hubs, while at the end of November 2023 this more than doubled to 239.

In contrast, only 36% said they use supermarket car parks to charge their vehicles, down from 50% the previous year. The drop corresponds with the removal of many free-to-use chargers at supermarkets almost a year ago.

Elsewhere, the survey – conducted in October 2023 and with record responses from around 4,300 drivers of fully electric cars – shows that the vast majority continue to use public charging networks across the country, although 80% of respondents have a home charger.

National charge point operators Gridserve, Pod Point and InstaVolt are used by the most respondents – used by 36%, 34% and 34% of drivers respectively in the last six months.

Gridserve has also overtaken Pod Point as the network used by the highest number of drivers while the research also reveals the motivations behind where drivers choose to stop and charge.

The research follows Zapmap’s recently announced charging network rankings for both high-powered, ‘en-route’ public charging networks and destination and on-street charging networks.

Jade Edwards, head of insights at Zapmap, said: “The continued expansion of the UK’s public charging network affects organisations across the country in a whole range of different ways, and that’s why this comprehensive survey can really help to shine a light on the key trends for companies of all shapes and sizes.

“What’s more, with the number of pure-electric cars on UK roads now more than 950,000, the country’s public charging infrastructure needs to be able to cope with a diverse range of needs. This survey is therefore vital in helping the industry to understand both how the EV landscape is changing – from en-route provision through to destination and on-street charging – as well as what needs to happen to best satisfy these needs.”