EV infrastructure charging forward

New figures have revealed that nearly 6,000 new public chargers were installed in the UK in the first three months of the year.

According to quarterly figures from Zapmap published by the Department for Transport, 5,725 public chargers were installed in the first quarter, with 1,436 of them rapid chargers capable of charging a vehicle in under an hour.

Meanwhile, the data also revealed that the rate of charge point installation is increasing, with the average of 1,900 new stations per month from January to March up by 35% of the 1,400 per months which was attained in the same period last year.

There are now 59,590 public charging devices in the UK, which represents at 10.5% rise since the end of 2023 and a 47% increase in the last 12 months.

The North East was the region which recorded the fastest growth of EV charging infrastructure, followed by the South West. Strong growth was also registered in Northern Ireland, although there still remains just 29 public EV chargers per 100,000 people. This compares to 221 chargers per 100,000 people in London.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and COO at Zapmap, said: “It’s fantastic to see that the strong pace of charger installations seen last year has already been exceeded in the first quarter of 2024. In particular, high-powered chargers and hubs are showing great momentum, with new hubs and chargers popping up everywhere from supermarkets to motorway services and retail outlets.

“It is undoubtedly great news for electric car drivers that the sheer number and as well as the variety of charging options are improving every month.”