There are now over 82,000 public EV chargers in the UK, with 17,000 added in 2024 alone, the Department for Transport has said.
The increase in public sockets has been particularly prevalent in the north-east, the east and the West Midlands, with the 27% national rise being hailed as “fantastic progress” by a DfT minister.
The news comes hot on the heels of a series of substantial taxpayer-funded subsidies committed to the sector, with a £650m pot earmarked to provide retail discounts of up to £3,750 for brand-new electric cars, and a further £63m set aside to encourage new charging facilities in haulage and residential settings.
Commenting on the latest chargepoint figures, Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said the data shows “that alongside lowering upfront costs, we’re also making fantastic progress towards expanding our charging network across the UK”.
A quarter of the new cars registered last month were battery powered, and while manufacturers are still struggling to hit the 28% proportion required for the year as a whole, ‘credits’ can be bought from pure EV car makers such as Tesla and BYD who will by their nature exceed the 28% requirement. While these credits will be expensive, they will no doubt be cheaper than the £15,000 fines set to be issued against car makers for every petrol, diesel and hybrid car they sell over quota.
