The Department for Transport and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles have released key statistics relating to electric vehicles and charging points. Although the data reveals increases overall, it also reveals significant regional differences.
As of 1 July 2021:
- there were 24,374 public electric vehicle charging devices available in the UK
- of the total devices available, 4,551 were rapid chargers.
In the second quarter of 2021 (April to June):
- available devices increased by 1,584, up 7% on the previous quarter (January to March 2021)
- rapid devices increased by 292, an increase of almost 7% on the previous quarter
- there was an increase in both total and rapid devices across all regions over the previous quarter.
UK growth in public charging devices
Since 2015, the number of public devices has grown by 44% per year, on average. Rapid devices have increased at a much higher rate, with an average annual increase of 62%. The coronavirus pandemic may have had an effect on device growth, with the annual growth in total and rapid devices since April 2020 being noticeably lower than average, at 36% and 46% respectively.
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 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 83 and 47 devices per 100,000 respectively. In comparison, the average provision in the UK was 36 per 100,000. Northern Ireland had the lowest level of charging device provision; Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West have just 21 and 22 devices per 100k.
Click here for more details on the Government’s data.