Latest figures show London and Scotland have the highest provision of EV chargers, while Northern Ireland has the lowest.
A 45% increase in the number of public electric vehicle charging devices installed in the UK in the past year has been revealed by the latest quarterly figures released by the Department for Transport.
As of January 1, 2024, there were 53,677 such devices, an increase of 16,622 since the same time last year, according to the figures, which are sourced from EV charging platform ZapMap.
Under the former definition - devices whose fastest connector was rated at 25kW and above - the number of rapid charging or above devices increased by 52%, an additional 3,604 public devices installed. Under the new speed categories - 3 kilowatts (kW) up to 8kW; 8kW to 49kW; 50kW to 149kW; 150kW and above - there were 10,118 50kW and above public charging devices, which accounted for 19% of all charging devices.
In terms of charging speed: 10,118 had 50kW of power or above, representing 19% of all charging devices; 31,910 had a power rating of 3kW up to 8kW, representing 59% of all charging devices. According to the DfT figures, 24,121 were designated as ‘destination’ chargers, representing 45% of all charging devices; and 20,705 were designated as ‘on street’ chargers, accounting for 39% of all charging devices
Compared to the previous quarterly figures on October 1, 2023, the number of total installed devices increased by 4,457, an increase of 9%; plus there was an increase in the number of public charging devices in all regions of the UK.
Across all speeds in total, the figures confirm an uneven geographical distribution of charging devices within the UK. Some UK local authorities have bid for UK government funding for charging devices, and others have not, said the DfT, which reported that most of the provision of the infrastructure had been market-led, with individual charging networks and other businesses (such as hotels) choosing where to install devices.
London and Scotland had the highest level of charging provision per 100,000 of population, with 210 and 84 devices per 100,000 respectively. In comparison, the average provision in the UK was 80 per 100,000.
Northern Ireland had the lowest level of charging device provision in the UK, with 24 devices per 100,000, followed by the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber, each with 49 devices per 100,000.
When focusing on speeds of 50kW and above Scotland had the highest rate of device provision at 21.4 50kW and above charging devices per 100,000, while the average provision in the UK was 15.1 per 100,000; while 50kW and above charging device provision was lowest for Northern Ireland with 4.1 50kW and above charging devices per 100,000. London was the second-lowest region with 11.9 50kW and above charging devices per 100,000.
