The UK’s best public charging network named by drivers

British EV owners have named and shamed the country’s best and worst public charging providers, with Tesla MFG and Fastned coming out on top.

Thousands of motorists took part in the annual Zapmap satisfaction survey to identify the best operators in the rapid and ultra-rapid sphere.

Tesla’s Supercharger network took top spot for the first time in the ‘large operator’ category for services with more than 300 charging points. The firm had previously been excluded from the rankings due to its closed network but has been considered this year after opening up a growing number of its sites to drivers of any electric car.

Netherlands-based Fastned was named the best ‘medium’ operator in the category covering networks with between 100 and 300 UK charge points. And supermarket giant Sainsbury’s took the ‘up-and-coming’ category thanks to the speedy rollout of its Sainsbury’s Smart Charge ultra-rapid hubs.

Best for value and reliability

The survey, now in its seventh year, asks drivers to rate their overall satisfaction for the networks they use regularly, as well as digging down into five key areas: reliability, ease of use, customer support, value for money, and payment options.

Tesla came out on top with an overall satisfaction rating of 4.7 out of five. Drivers were particularly happy with the Supercharger networks’ value for money, with costs often significantly lower than other high-powered networks. They also praised its reliability and ease of use.

MFG, which has more than 780 devices at 195 filling stations came second to Tesla, with a rating of 3.8. Drivers praised the reliability of the firm’s 150kW chargers and the ease of payment. Just behind MFG and also scoring highly for ease of use was Osprey, which has installed more rapid/ultra-rapid chargers than any other network this year, now boasting more than 1,200 devices at 380 locations.

 

While Fastned remains a ‘medium’ player in the UK, with 150 devices across 26 sites, it is one of Europe’s largest ultra-rapid providers and this year was named the best public charging network among those with less than 300 UK devices. UK users rated it very highly for reliability, ease of use and the payment options offered.

Close behind it was another pan-European operator, Ionity, which scored 3.5. Users rated it highly for the reliability of its 270 devices across 37 locations. Third place in the medium operator list went to the rapidly expanding Applegreen Electric, which scored 3.2.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder & COO at Zapmap, said: “This year has seen another huge increase in charging provision across the country, particularly for the ultra-rapid chargers, and charging hubs; and it is fantastic to be able to highlight and celebrate the UK’s best EV charging networks, as chosen by EV drivers.

“A record 17 networks are on the rankings table, and it is clear that reliability in the broadest sense remains key with EV drivers showing appreciation for networks rolling out consistent, reliable charging hubs which provide convenience and charging confidence. Whilst excellent payment options, customer support and ease of use are all highly valued, this year value for money, is an increasingly important consideration.”

Driver dissatisfaction

While the survey identified the country’s best public charging operators, it also exposed those that failed to live up to drivers’ expectations.

Maintaining its 2023 spot at the very bottom of the large operator rankings was GeniePoint, which scored an overall rating of just two out of five. BP Pulse was just ahead of its with a rating of 2.2, with Chargeplace Scotland (2.3) and Shell Recharge (2.5) also disappointing drivers.

In the medium category, ESB energy also scored a mere two out of five, putting it below EVpoint (2.3) and evyve (2.6).