UK installs 50,000th charger | Network to reach 100,000 by August 2025

The UK has surpassed 50,000 electric vehicle (EV) charge points with the 50,000th charging device installed by MFG EV Power at a service station in Weston-super-Mare.

October’s 50,000 charge point milestone comes after the 40,000 milestone was achieved in February with the addition of at GeniePoint charger at Morrisons Southport.

Looking back further, the UK hit 30,000 charging devices in February 2022, with a BP Pulse device installed in Botany Bay in Kent. It followed the 20,000th charger being deployed in September 2020; a Pod Point charger at a Tesco in Scarborough.

The 10,000th charging device milestone came in August 2018, with the installation of an InstaVolt device at Meadowfield Filling Station.

Last week, Zapmap’s quarterly statistics showed that the number of ultra-rapid charge points in the UK increased by 68% since September 2022, with the number of slow chargers increasing by almost 68% as well.

Looking ahead, given the current rate of installation, Zapmap’s calculations show that the UK is likely to reach 100,000 charging devices in August 2025.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and chief operating officer at Zapmap, said: “Hitting 50,000 public charging devices is a really important milestone for the country and illustrates the sea change behind the increased rate of charge point installations.

“Having passed 40,000 charge points in February, our predictions are that there will be 100,000 chargers by August 2025 – which would certainly be a major achievement.

“Alongside the number of high-power charging hubs in the UK more than doubling in the past year, as we saw last week, these are changes that bring real benefits to electric car drivers up and down the country.”

Ian Johnson, chair of ChargeUK, says that the rate of deployment is increasing all the time. “In the last 12 months alone, the public charge point network has increased by 43%,” he said.

“However, we can go further and faster with the right policies and help from government to remove barriers that constrain the roll-out.

“Public chargers are part of a wider picture. The way people charge their EV depends on their lifestyle, many people charge at home, others charge on their street, whilst many will either charge at destinations or en route on their journeys.

“Our members are focussed on ensuring drivers have access to the right charger in the right place.”