The UK’s public charging network has reached a significant milestone with the installation of over 10,000 rapid and ultra-rapid electric vehicle charging points.
That’s according to new data from ZapMap, which revealed that the 10,000th charge point was installed at Sedbergh Leisure Centre in Bradford as part of the GeniePoint charging network.
This latest figure shows that there are now over 10,000 rapid and ultra-rapid charging devices installed across 5,000 UK charging locations. These form the higher-powered end of the country’s public charging network, and are designed to give drivers the confidence to make longer journeys in their electric vehicles.
“Hitting the 10,000 high-powered charging devices mark is really important for electric car drivers across the country,” said Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-founder & COO at Zapmap. “Having surpassed 8,000 rapid and ultra-rapid devices as recently as May 2023, it’s fantastic to see this latest milestone arrive just in time for Christmas.”
Jade Edwards, Head of Insights at Zapmap, added, “It’s great to see the UK surpass 10,000 high-powered charging devices. That’s not only because it illustrates the acceleration in the rate of charge point installation. It’s also because the data shows the increasing prevalence of the highest power devices, those with a power rating of 100kW or more.”
The number of high-powered charging devices is increasing rapidly, with devices of 100kW or more now accounting for 45% of the UK’s high-powered chargers. This is a significant increase from 20% in December 2020.
In addition to the increasing number of high-powered charging devices, the UK is also seeing an increase in the number of charging hubs. Charging hubs are groups of six or more rapid or ultra-rapid devices, and there are now 239 of them in the UK, up from 99 a year ago. This means that drivers are more likely to find a high-powered charging point when they need one, even on long journeys.