UK hits 50,000 charge point milestone

The UK has surpassed 50,000 electric vehicle charging points, according to latest figures from charge point mapping service Zapmap.

Zapmap has revealed that there are now more than 50,000 public charging devices installed across the country. Operated by en-route provider MFG EV Power, the 50,000th charging device to be installed was an ultra-rapid device at a service station in Weston-super-Mare.

The milestone reflects encouraging growth in two key areas of the country’s charge point infrastructure. 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.

The timing of the milestone also demonstrates the acceleration in the rate of charge point installation over recent years. October’s 50,000 charge point milestone follows hot on the heels of the 40,000 mark, which the UK surpassed in February 2023. In this case, the milestone installation was part of the GeniePoint network, at Morrisons Southport.

Looking back further, the UK hit 30,000 charging devices in February 2022 (bp pulse, Botany Bay), which followed the 20,000 mark in September 2020 (Pod Point, Tesco Superstore Scarborough). The 10,000 charging devices milestone came in August 2018, with the installation of an InstaVolt device at Meadowfield Filling Station.

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 & 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.

“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, said: “This is a significant milestone and a testament to the investment, vision and hard work of our members.

“The rate of deployment is increasing all the time, in the last 12 months alone the public charge point network has increased by 43%. 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.”