Putting infrastructure on the map

Public EV charger provision has grown 10% since April, reports Department for Transport

There are now over 44,000 public electric vehicle charging devices installed across the UK. However, new figures released by the Department for Transport reveal the geographical distribution of charging devices remains uneven, with London and Scotland being the most well served.

As of 1 July 2023, there were 44,020 public electric vehicle charging devices installed in the UK. Compared to 1 April 2023 the total installed devices increased by 3,870, an increase of 10%.

The number of rapid charging or above devices increased by 814, an increase of 11% over the past six months.

Charging device location categories are defined based on both the physical and, or type of facility they are located in and who can access this but also the type of charging service they are designed to deliver.

UK growth in public devices

Since 1 July 2022 the number of installed public devices has increased by 12,009, a 38% increase. The number of rapid charging or above devices increased by 42%, an additional 2,487 public devices installed.

Proportionately, the largest increase in installations in the last quarter was within the ultra-rapid device category, which increased by 29% (albeit from a lower base than other categories), accounting for 776 charging devices. Ultra-rapid charging devices are still the smallest overall category with 3,437 devices.

Proportionately in the last quarter, the smallest increase in charging device installations was in the rapid charging devices categories, with an increase of 1% or 38 charging devices. Fast charging devices are still the most common category to be publicly installed. The most common location category for charging devices is ‘Destination’ with 21,294 charging devices or 48% of all publicly available charging devices. “On street” charging devices account for 34% of charging devices or 14,848.

Regional distribution of devices

There is 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. Most of the provision of

Charging types

• On Street Charging devices located on residential streets only.

• En-route Charging devices located for charging to continue a journey. Located in motorway service areas, service stations, electric forecourts and ferry terminals. Additionally rapid or ultrarapid devices in hotels, restaurants and attractions.

• Destination Charging devices located at the end of an EV journey or where a driver may typically stop for an extended period of time. Consists of devices located in retail car parks, car parks, leisure, education areas, hotels, restaurants and transport (except ferries).

• Other Charging devices are semipublic with some level of access restrictions such as workplace car parks and dealership forecourts.

this infrastructure has 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 152 and 73 devices per 100,000 respectively. In comparison, the average provision in the UK was 66 per 100,000.

Northern Ireland had the lowest level of charging device provision in the UK, with 23 devices per 100,000, followed by the North West and East Midlands with 39 and 43 devices per 100,000 respectively.

Scotland had the highest rate of rapid device provision of 19.2 rapid or quicker devices per 100,000, whilst the average provision in the UK was 12.6 per 100,000. Rapid or quicker device provision was lowest for Northern Ireland with 3 rapid or quicker devices per 100,000. North West and London were the second and third lowest regions with 9.9 and 10.7 rapid or quicker devices per 100,000 respectively.

All regions across the UK saw an increase in total charging devices between April to June 2023. East of England had the greatest increase at 26.1%, whilst Scotland had the smallest increase at 1.7%. East of England had the greatest increase in absolute number of devices at 652 devices, followed by London at 591.

Rapid charging or above devices have increased in every region in the UK. The smallest percentage increase in the number of rapid charging or above devices was London at 4.3%. Northern Ireland had the largest percentage increase in rapid charging or above devices at 54.1%, corresponding to an increase of 20 rapid charging or above devices.