Some 3,028 public EV chargepoint plugs were installed in the first three months of 2026, mapping and data firm Zapmap says.
The company has adopted a new model of counting EV chargers in line with the Department for Transport, which now assesses a ‘charger’ as an individual lead capable of recharging a car, replacing the old system that counted ‘devices’, which often have two leads for two vehicles to use simultaneously.
Using that metric, the UK now has 119,080 public leads spread across 46,107 locations.
Ultra-rapid chargers, capable of delivering electricity at 150kW or faster, experienced the highest growth in Q1 2026, with the 12,921 leads in this category representing a 39% increase compared to March last year.
Charging hubs, meanwhile, defined as eight or more rapid (50kW+) or ultra-rapid chargers at a single location, grew by 46 in number over the past three months, with 1,037 such facilities now live in the UK.
Significant new hubs to have come on stream in the last quarter include Ionity’s central Birmingham location, built in conjunction with Hubber, a firm founded by former Tesla execs; a Newcastle hub launched by battery firm Duracell; and a motorway services hub opened by Gridserve at Roadchef’s Folkstone Services.
Turning away from hubs to ‘destination’ charging, which sees sockets installed at locations drivers will already be visiting, one of the more significant developments to have been announced of late is Raw Charging and Landsec’s £25m partnership that will see 1,000 new retail-park chargers installed at locations such as Bluewater.
Commenting on the quarter’s figures, Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and chief operating officer at Zapmap, said:
“Steady growth in the roll-out of charging infrastructure has continued in the first quarter of the year. It’s encouraging to see 46 brand new hub locations, throughout the length and breadth of the British Isles.”
