The Scottish government is rolling out thousands of new public charge points across Ayrshire and the Glasgow city region as it passes a major charging milestone early.

Scotland has passed its target of installing more than 6,000 public EV charge points over a year early

Backed by a £6.3m investment from the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund, around 3,550 new public EV charge points will go live across the region.

Zapmap has also confirmed that Scotland has already reached its target of installing more than 6,000 public EV charge points, over a year ahead of the 2026 target. The charge point data provider confirmed the country had 6,007 public charge points as of 31 October, delivered through a combination of public and increasing private sector investment.

As a direct result, per head of population, Scotland has more public EV charge points than any other part of the UK, except London.

The Scottish government published its EV charging ‘Vision’ in June 2023, setting out plans for a world-class charging network by opening up ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) to private sector investment.

Zapmap data shows that since the target of 6,000 public EV charge points by 2026 was announced in the ‘Vision’ document, charge point infrastructure has grown by over 49% from the 4,023 chargers available in June 2023.

The Government has also committed to enabling around 24,000 extra public charge points by 2030, and said it expects the majority of these to be delivered by the private sector.

First Minister John Swinney said today’s announcement on the £6.3m investment for charging was clear evidence of the commitment to making sustainable travel accessible for everyone in Scotland.

“We need to maintain this rapid progress, working in greater partnership with the private sector to accelerate the pace and scale of delivery right across the country.

“By fast-tracking EV infrastructure, we’re paving the way for a net-zero Scotland while advancing our goal to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.”

Susan Aitken, Glasgow City Region Cabinet Chair and Leader of Glasgow City Council, commented: “Electric vehicles are to key to reducing carbon emissions and the expanded charging network this funding will deliver can persuade more citizens across the City Region to switch to electric.

“And in creating the biggest network of charge points across Scotland’s most populous communities we can make a real impact on our national climate targets.”