The UK’s EV charging network grew by almost a third in 2022, with over 8,800 chargers newly accessible to the public.
That’s according to the latest stats from Zap-Map, the UK’s leading charge point mapping service. According to the company’s data, the UK now has 37,261 EV charging connectors available to members of the public, which is an increase on 2021’s figure, which saw a total of 28,458. That means 2022 was a record for the total number of chargers installed within a calendar year.
A 30% growth in the UK’s charging infrastructure is positive news, especially as 2022 saw EVs surpass diesel for the very first time to become the second most popular powertrain after petrol, with 267,000 battery electric vehicles sold last year. That’s a significant increase on 2021’s figures, where only 190,000 were sold.
While the total increase for electric vehicle chargers is welcome, the area most people want to know about is the increase in ultra-rapid chargers — which can fuel up an electric vehicle in minutes, rather than hours. In this area, the news is even more positive, with the UK seeing an 80% increase, as there are now 2,295 ultra-rapid chargers available on the UK’s charging network, up from 1,290 at the end of 2021.
The growth in ultra-rapid charge points is largely due to networks such as MFG EV Power, Osprey and GRIDSERVE Electric Highway, which are rolling out high-speed charging ‘hubs’ of around six devices across the country.
Indeed, 2022 saw 106 new high-speed charging hubs – of four or more rapid/ultra-rapid devices – open across the country. This represented a 56% increase in the number of high-speed charging hubs open to EV drivers, with 189 locations at the end of 2021 and 295 as of December 2022.
While extremely high growth in the number of ultra-rapid chargers across the country is the defining characteristic of the year, other pieces of the jigsaw – from growth in the West Midlands to the accelerating provision of on-street chargers – are also worth highlighting.
Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-Founder and COO of Zap-Map, commented, “Over the next few years, the UK will need a mix of charging solutions to suit a wide variety of use cases.
“Focusing solely on the number of charging devices masks the different types of charging available, what they’re useful for, and which ones are needed where.”
One of these key areas is the provision of on-street charging infrastructure. Found on residential streets, these devices tend to be either slow or fast chargers and, generally speaking, provide an alternative to charging at home.
2022 saw significant growth in this area, with the number of on-street charging devices increasing by 36% – up from 8,842 devices at the end of 2021 to 12,009 devices by the end of December.
While London and the South East retain the top spots in terms of the highest number of charging points, 2022 saw thousands of chargers installed up and down the UK.
Indeed, the area that saw the most significant rate of growth last year was the West Midlands. The total number of chargers in the region grew by 52% over the course of the year, increasing from 1,854 devices to 2,816.
Of these 2,816 chargers in the West Midlands, 223 were ultra-rapid devices, with 419 rapid, 1,789 fast, and 385 slow devices at the end of December.
Wales also saw significant growth, with 1,039 devices operational at the end of 2021, and 1,473 by the end of December – an increase of 42%.
Despite this, Greater London saw the highest overall number of devices installed in 2022, increasing from 9,160 devices at the end of 2021 to 11559 at the end of December – an increase of 26%.
Shufflebotham added, “2022 was a record year for both EV sales and public charging rollout. With more than 8,800 net new chargers installed, a 30% increase, the UK’s network is keeping good pace with the take up of cleaner, greener cars.
“There are areas we need to see improvements — there’s still a London and South-East bias, especially for slow on-street charging, and reliability remains the top concern for EV drivers. The rollout of rapid and ultra-rapid chargers has been moving at pace and this needs to continue through 2023, because they are crucial for topping up en-route.
“Despite the challenges of rising energy prices and supply chain shortages, it’s been another big year for electrifying transport. Hopefully 2023 will beat the records again.”
