Areas where EV drivers will struggle to find rapid chargers revealed

Portsmouth, Southampton and Stockport are the areas electric vehicle (EV) drivers will struggle to find rapid charging points, according to new research by Aston Barclay.

It has analysed Department for Transport (DfT) statistics, released last week, on the number of available rapid charging devices (50kW and above) in the UK, and compared with the total number of registered EVs.

The latest figures found that publicly available rapid charging points totalled 11,590 as of the end of April 2024.

However, with over 941,692 registered electric battery vehicles on the road, that equates to just one rapid charger for every 81 EVs in the United Kingdom.

The research found that some areas are hugely disproportionate for the number of rapid chargers versus EVs, with Portsmouth having just one rapid charger per 2,886 EVs. Southampton (2,285 EVs for every rapid charging point) and Stockport (1,482) also saw similar levels – indicating there is still work to do to ensure there is equitable access to rapid charging points across the UK.

Interestingly, Kensington and Chelsea was the only London borough to make the top twenty list, with Camden, the borough with the second largest disproportion, only making it to 23th in the list.

While it seems the rapid charging infrastructure has some way to go for many UK cities, the same cannot be said for EV drivers in Dumfries and Galloway, Milton Keynes and West Berkshire, which all have one rapid charging point for every 12 EVs.

Albert Parnell, group EV Lead at Aston Barclay, said: “The introduction of EVs has been the biggest revolution in the motoring industry in decades, and while car manufacturers and suppliers are preparing for the longer-term impact, such as the 2035 ICE ban, it is important the UK infrastructure can keep up with ownership demand.

“Depending on battery size, rapid chargers allow drivers to fully charge a vehicle in 30 minutes, compared to 6 to 8 hours for a standard charger – having more accessibility to faster charging capabilities will be the key to ensuring EV ownership continues momentum.

“As a business we are investing heavily in our EV infrastructure, including having more, faster chargers at each of our auction centres.

“As more drivers across the UK make the change to more sustainable modes of transport, we encourage more investment for efficient charging methods to be implemented across the UK.”

The top 20 worst areas for rapid EV charging points, based on the number of EVs for every publicly available rapid charger, according to the research findings, are:

1. Portsmouth (2,886)
2. Southampton (2,285)
3. Stockport (1,482)
4. Swindon (985)
5. Redditch (810)
6. Wokingham (738)
7. Ribble Valley (631)
8. Kensington and Chelsea (622)
9. Isle of Wight (618)
10. Woking (575)
11. Peterborough (551)
12. South Hams (348)
13. Leeds (330)
14. Lewes (305)
15. Renfrewshire (304)
16. Reading (296)
17. Chesterfield (291)
18. Three Rivers (285)
19. North East Derbyshire (266)
20. Windsor and Maidenhead (253)