There are now 100,000 public EV chargepoints across 34,200 locations in the UK, growth that is in “stark contrast” to “declining” numbers of petrol stations, according to an energy supplier.
Octopus Energy says a new public chargepoint was installed every 13 minutes in the UK over the past six months, and that 24% of public sockets comprise ultra-rapid units, capable of delivering electricity at speeds of 150kW or faster.
The firm also projects that the country is “on track” to meet government targets for there to be 300,000 public chargepoints in the UK by 2030, when sales of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned.
The news comes on the same day that Octopus Energy was told by the Advertising Standards Authority to pull one of its advertisements after the regulator deemed it contained a claim that was “misleading”.
Precise numbers for EV chargepoints can vary across databases, with Zapmap finding earlier in the month that there are now 76,840 public points in the UK, with 61,378 of these being 50kW or slower.
And while the Association of Convenience Stores reports that the number of petrol stations fell from 8,354 in 2023 to 8,347 in 2024 (a 0.08% drop), operators are submitting plans for new or redeveloped forecourts on a near-weekly basis.
