The UK now has more than 50,000 public charge points for electric cars

There are now more than 50,000 public charge points for electric cars in the UK. According to Zapmap data, that’s been achieved with 43 per cent growth in all kinds of charge points when compared with 2022 figures.

Both slow and ultra-rapid type chargers are those that have been installed the most, with each increasing by 68 per cent in the same period. Having crunched the data, Zapmap reckons by the end of 2026, the UK will have reached the 100,000 charge point milestone.

To offer context, the UK has 8,365 fuel stations, according to Statista’s August 2023 data.

The fact that the 40,000th charge point installation was reached in February of this year also points to a clear acceleration in the rollout of public charge points, considering it was a full year between 30,000 and 40,000.

In a move that would make Banksy proud, Weston-super-mare is home to the 50,000th device. It was an ultra-rapid charge point, installed by provider MFG EV power. There are now 3,873 chargers which are capable of delivering more than 100kW of power.

Zapmap is a longstanding resource for EV drivers, mapping out and detailing the location and status of the UK's EV charge points, as well as providing a simplified method to pay – by way of ZapPay. It points out that its data currently lists the four power ratings based on current definitions, namely: slow (3-6kW), fast (7-22kW), rapid (25-99kW) and ultra-rapid (100kW+).

Those are about to change, because the UK government is currently drafting The Public Charge Point Regulations. Once they've been published, new ratings will be categorised into <8kW, 8-49kW, 50-149kW, 150kW+. Meanwhile, hubs – of six chargers or more – now account for 196 locations, up from 88 last year.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder & COO 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. 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.”

And that hasn't been the only good news on the EV charging front this week. Vital EV tells us it's commissioned the UK's first liquid-cooled chargers delivering up to 400kW of power – the fastest charger in the UK. These ones will only be available for prototype and production cars at testing facility UTAC Millbrook for the time being, but might hit a service station near you this side of the decade. Stay tuned.