Zap-Map reveals England’s most popular EV charging locations

England’s most popular public electric vehicle charging locations have been revealed by EV charging app Zap-Map.

The findings come during one of the busiest periods on the roads as families travel across the country during the summer holidays. The rankings reflect the second quarter of 2022 and cover around 70% of the UK’s public EV charging network.

With the GRIDSERVE Electric Super Hubs at Moto Rugby and Moto Exeter topping the list, charge point operators MFG EV Power and bp pulse also have charging locations that make the top five.

Based on analysis of the more than 1.6 million charging sessions tracked by Zap-Map over the second quarter of 2022, the top five charging locations are:

1. GRIDSERVE Electric Super Hub at Moto Rugby

Moto opened its Rugby site in April last year, complete with a flagship, GRIDSERVE Electric Super Hub just off the M6. It has 12 high-power charging devices, which have both CCS and CHAdeMO connectors. Accepting contactless payments and capable of charging at up to 350 kW, these chargers can add around 100 miles in ten minutes.

2. GRIDSERVE Electric Super Hub at Moto Exeter

This Electric Super Hub at Moto’s Exeter site has some 17 charging devices, with something for everyone. Indeed, the hub boasts two fast Type 2 AC chargers, three medium-power, and twelve 350 kW-capable devices with CCS and CHAdeMO connectors.

Opened on March 31st, on a popular holiday route, GRIDSERVE’s Exeter Super Hub is off to a flying start in its first three months of operation with a 240% increase in EV traffic on site.

3. MFG EV Power – Newington

MFG EV Power, the ultra-rapid charging network belonging to Motor Fuel Group, also makes it into the UK’s most popular charging locations with its ultra-rapid charging hub at Newington in south London.

Sporting seven charging devices, the hub is conveniently located next to the A201, between Elephant & Castle and Bermondsey.

4. bp pulse – bp Hammersmith

At number four, bp pulse’s Hammersmith charging hub is just off the A4, between Hammersmith and Barons Court tube stations.

With one rapid charging device and four ultra-rapid devices, the hub may well be the smallest of the top five, but its location next to the Hammersmith Flyover sees it put to extremely good use.

5. GRIDSERVE Braintree Electric Forecourt

GRIDSERVE’s first Electric Forecourt at Braintree in Essex opened in late 2020 – and boasts a whopping 30 charging devices. While these are predominantly ultra-rapid devices for EV drivers topping up on longer journeys, the hub sees some fast and rapid devices thrown in too for good measure.

Located just off the A131, adjacent to Great Notley, the chargers are powered by a canopy of solar panels, as well as GRIDSERVE’s network of solar farms. There’s also a 6 MWh battery on site that allows solar energy to be stored.

Melanie Shufflebotham, Zap-Map Co-founder & COO, said: “With over 500,000 pure-electric cars on UK roads, and the number of EV drivers joining their ranks showing no signs of slowing, high-power charging hubs are becoming increasingly popular, as these five most popular charging locations show us.

“It’s great to see so many people joining the EV community and using these ultra-rapid hubs, not only because they enable longer electric journeys, but ultimately because every EV driver on the road is helping to reduce our carbon emissions.

“It is popular locations such as these that help to provide peace of mind for EV drivers undertaking longer journeys, who know they can easily find a convenient location for a quick boost.”

Toddington Harper, GRIDSERVE CEO, said: “It’s great to see three of our GRIDSERVE Electric Highway locations in the top five most used sites across England. We are committed to building an awesome UK-wide charging network, enabling anyone, anywhere, in any type of EV to take on any journey and have a great customer experience.

“GRIDSERVE Electric Super Hubs and Electric Forecourts® help provide EV drivers the confidence they need to undertake any journey, irrespective of what electric vehicle they drive, and charge quickly, reliably, and affordably.

“We’ve launched seven Electric Super Hubs so far this year, including Exeter, through our partnership with Moto plus our Electric Forecourt in Norwich and we will continue to deliver many more locations on the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway throughout this year and ongoing. This is the sort of action that is necessary to move the needle on climate change, and it’s great to see how the passion and the pace of development within GRIDSERVE is delivering such a positive impact.”

Ken McMeikan, CEO at Moto Hospitality added: “I am delighted to see our Moto sites at Rugby and Exeter occupying the top two spots, it’s a real vote of confidence from motorists in both our charging offer and our fantastic facilities.

“As the largest UK Motorway Services Operator, we are continuing our mission to transform the UK’s rest stop experience. Reducing range anxiety by revolutionising the EV charging experience for motorists on motorways is at the heart of our plans.

“Across all our sites, up and down the UK, we’re improving the size, efficiency and capability of our EV charging offer and now have eight Super Hubs open. We also expect to complete super hub installation at half of our Motorway Services Areas over the coming months and are on track to deliver above and beyond the government target of a minimum of six rapid chargers at each motorway site by 2023, all of which makes it easier for our customers to make the switch to sustainable driving.”

As of the end of July 2022, there were more than 20,300 charging locations across the UK with almost 33,300 charging devices, according to Zap-Map data.

This represents a 35% increase in the total number of charging devices since July 2021, while there has been a 70% increase in the number of ultra-rapid devices across the country in the same time period.