The UK has surged past the 40,000-charger milestone after nearly 2,000 new devices were installed in March.

March heralded InstaVolt’s most active month to date, with a record 80 rapid chargers activated throughout the UK

Latest Zap-Map ‘Zap-Stats’ show there were 40,496 electric vehicle charging points across the UK at the end of March 2023, spread across 23,902 charging locations and with more than 65,000 connectors.

It’s a 35% increase in the total number of charging devices since March 2022 and comes as the new car market saw the biggest month in history for battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake, with 46,626 deliveries; up 18.5% year on year.

Ubitricity, which runs a network of lamppost chargers, currently has the most public charging devices in the UK, followed by Pod Point and BP Pulse.

The Zap-Map data also shows there were 7,714 rapid and ultra-rapid charging devices at the end of March, located across 4,305 rapid and ultra-rapid charging locations in the UK. Since March 2022, there has been a 88% increase in the number of ultra-rapid devices across the country while last month saw 305 new rapid and ultra-rapid charging devices added to the Zap-Map database.

InstaVolt continues to have the most rapid/ultra-rapid charging points, with 1,054 charge points at the end of March 2023. The network has separately reported that it activated a record number of chargers last month, up by 80. Its recently installed chargers cover more than 10 different regions across the UK and include the expansion of the firm’s largest rapid charging hub, Stroud Park on the M40, as well as a six-charger site in Bristol.

CEO Adrian Keen said: “The accelerating expansion of our public charging network across the UK is a huge success for InstaVolt and a testament to the growing demand for EV infrastructure.

“We have made huge strides as a business already this year and we are firmly committed to extending this growth throughout 2023. We’ve also had some significant milestones along the way, including energising our 1,000th charger and the expansion of our flagship rapid charging hub at Stroud Park, Banbury.”