Over 50,000 electric car charging points now available in the UK.

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【Summary】The UK now has over 50,000 public charge points for electric cars, with a 43% growth compared to last year. Slow and ultra-rapid chargers saw the most installations, both increasing by 68%. Zapmap predicts that the UK will reach 100,000 charge points by the end of 2026. The 50,000th charge point was an ultra-rapid charger in Weston-super-mare. The UK government is drafting new regulations for charge point ratings. Hubs with six or more chargers have increased from 88 to 196 locations.

FutureCar Staff Oct 12, 2023 9:16 AM PT

Over 50,000 electric car charging points now available in the UK.

The UK has surpassed 50,000 public charge points for electric cars, marking a significant milestone in the country's charging infrastructure. According to Zapmap data, there has been a 43% growth in all types of charge points compared to 2022 figures. Both slow and ultra-rapid chargers have seen a 68% increase in installations during the same period. Zapmap predicts that the UK will reach 100,000 charge points by the end of 2026.

In comparison, the UK currently has 8,365 fuel stations, highlighting the rapid expansion of charging infrastructure. The 40,000th charge point was installed in February of this year, indicating an acceleration in the rollout of public charge points. Weston-super-mare is now home to the 50,000th device, an ultra-rapid charge point installed by MFG EV power. There are currently 3,873 chargers capable of delivering more than 100kW of power.

Zapmap, a resource for EV drivers, provides detailed information on the location and status of charge points in the UK. It also offers a simplified payment method through ZapPay. The current power ratings listed by Zapmap include slow, fast, rapid, and ultra-rapid chargers. However, these ratings are set to change with the upcoming publication of The Public Charge Point Regulations by the UK government. The new ratings will categorize chargers into <8kW, 8-49kW, 50-149kW, and 150kW+.

Furthermore, the number of charging hubs with six or more chargers has increased from 88 to 196 over the past year. Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder & COO at Zapmap, emphasizes the significance of reaching 50,000 public charging devices and the benefits it brings to electric car drivers across the country. In other positive news, Vital EV has commissioned the UK's first liquid-cooled chargers capable of delivering up to 400kW of power, making them the fastest chargers in the UK. These chargers are currently available for prototype and production cars at the testing facility UTAC Millbrook.