The number of public chargers and high-power charging hubs in the UK has risen significantly in the last year, latest figures from Zapmap reveal.

Ultra-rapid and slow chargers have shown the highest year-on-year growth

Almost 50,000 public charging devices were installed as of the end of September 2023, according to its new statistics – up more than 43% year on year.

The number of higher-powered charging points has grown by over 40% since September 2022, while lower-powered devices display year-on-year growth of 44%.

Within the different power bandings, 100kW+ ultra-rapid chargers – often found near motorways and A-roads – and 3-6kW slow charge points – mostly found on residential streets – exhibit the most impressive YoY growth.

The number of ultra-rapid charge points in the UK has increased by 68% since September 2022 thanks to the arrival of 1,568 devices.

At the same time, low-power charging provision on residential streets has grown significantly, up almost 68% as well, with a total of 5,749 slow devices installed across the country.

In comparison, fast chargers (7-22W) are up 34% while rapids (25-99kw) have risen 19%.

Jade Edwards, head of insights at Zapmap, said: “These statistics help to give clarity on how the UK’s charging infrastructure is growing because they highlight important growth at two key ends of the charging spectrum.

“For starters, the upwards trend in the number of slow devices on residential streets will soon become a real boon for electric car drivers not able to charge at home. And while it can be difficult to see larger changes occurring from the ground, drivers up and down the country will certainly feel the benefits from the surge in the number of high-power devices at ultra-rapid charging hubs when charging further afield.

“These are two vital segments of the UK’s charging infrastructure, and it’s great to see these latest Zapmap figures shining a light on such positive changes.”

The data also reveals that the number of ultra-rapid charging hubs with six or more devices (excluding non-public Tesla devices) has more than doubled year-on-year, up 123%. At the end of September, there were 196 locations across the UK with six or more ultra-rapid devices – up from 88 in September 2022.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder & COO at Zapmap, said: “This is great news for electric car drivers. With almost 200 high-power charging hubs up and down the country, these latest figures should give electric car drivers the confidence to drive any length of journey in their EV.

“As we approach the October half term, having an additional 108 new charging hubs across the UK speaks volumes – and is a huge step up from last year. These multi-charger hubs make a real difference for electric car drivers, providing peace of mind on longer journeys.”

Ultra-rapid charger key locations and regional distribution revealed

While the Zapmap figures display impressive overall growth of 68% year-on-year for ultra-rapid devices, the data also reveals that the key locations for such chargers include service stations and retail car parks. At the end of September, there were 1,457 ultra-rapid devices at service stations across the UK – an increase of 82% on the previous year – and 892 at retail car parks, a 61% increase year-on-year.

The charge point mapping service also explored differences in regional distribution for ultra-rapid chargers and found every area of mainland Great Britain except Greater London has shown year-on-year growth of 50% or more for ultra-rapids, with the North East (133% increase), Scotland (98%), and Wales (89%) showing the highest increases.

In contrast, Greater London (41%) saw the lowest increase in the number of ultra-rapid devices installed over the same period – due to ultra-rapids mainly catering to drivers making longer journeys on motorways or A-roads far easier. Greater London, however, has a particularly high proportion of slow chargers (around 70%), reflecting the area’s high concentration of relatively affluent households without off-street parking.

Zapmap charging device data as of the end of September 2023

The Public Charge Point Regulations (currently in draft legislation as of July 2023) are aligning the public charging industry around new power rating bandings. The new banding will be categorised into <8kW, 8-49kW, 50-149kW, 150kW+. All Zapmap reporting will update to use these new bandings by the end of 2023.