The number of public charge points has raced past the 75,000 mark, new figures show.

There were almost 76k charge points in the UK at the end of February

Latest Zapmap data reveals there were 75,675 charge points in the UK at the end of February; up 32% year on year.

The 750,000th charge point went live at the Village Hotel, Bristol, as one of eight ultra-rapid and four rapid devices.

Charge point installations hit a new record growth rate in 2024, with more than 20,000 new charge points, delivering a 38% YOY rise in the UK total. The highest growth was seen in ultra-rapid (150kW+) devices; up 84% since the end of 2023.

The National Audit Office reported in December that the number of public charge points was on track to meet the government target of 300,000 by 2030 but warned that major challenges remain on issues such as regional disparities.

Zapmap has said that assuming that the ZEV mandate regulations are not watered following the recent government consultation, EV infrastructure should continue to see strong growth.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and COO at Zapmap, added: “Having 75,000 public charge points available, across the different charging use cases, is a significant milestone for the UK EV market.

“An extensive network of public charging, especially high-visibility hubs,  helps drive confidence for the next wave of drivers who will be making the switch to electric over the next few years.”

Asif Ghafoor, CEO of national EV charging network Be.EV, said the milestone was cause for celebration and “helps to prove that the narrative surrounding range anxiety is nonsense”.

“I regularly travel to EV charging sites all across the country and I’ve seen hardly any queues. There’s clearly enough infrastructure out there for EV drivers at the moment, and we’re well on track to keep pace with demand.”

But Ghafoor said charging firms have a responsibility to “make sure chargers are upgraded and suit what drivers want today, not what they wanted three years ago”.

“For example, contactless should be a given at all chargers, which it isn’t currently. This will greatly improve the driver experience and give non-EV drivers yet another reason to make the switch,” he elaborated.

He also called for more signposting on roads and motorways to bring an end to the “outdated reliance” on chargers at motorway service stations.

“Many drivers use their car or apps for this, but signposting will help drive behaviour change and encourage drivers to find better EV charging hubs outside of where they used to refuel. Many are located less than 10 minutes away from motorways, where the chargers are less busy (and the food and drink is cheaper).

“What we need to challenge is the perception of poor range. It’s clear that there are more than enough chargers, we just need to do a better job of letting drivers know that this is the case. Signs that actually tell them where these chargers are would go a long way.”