Exciting News: Over 5,500 New Electric Car Chargers in the UK!
The UK is stepping up its electric car game with more than 5,500 new charge points added in just the first quarter of 2024. That’s a big leap forward as companies rush to install more charging stations.
Now, there are a whopping 59,590 charging stations across the country! That's up by 10.5% since the end of 2023 and a huge 47% increase in the last year alone.
The pace of installing these charge points is picking up too. In the first quarter of this year, over 1,900 new charge points went live every month. That's a 35% increase compared to last year’s average of 1,400 per month.
Of the 5,725 new chargers, 25% are super-fast, including 832 ultra-rapid ones that charge at speeds of 150kW or more. The top five networks responsible for these high-power chargers are InstaVolt, Tesla, BP Pulse, Osprey, and Gridserve.
Some new players are joining the race too. Sainsbury’s introduced its Smart Charge ultra-rapid network, adding almost 190 chargers, and Applegreen Electric expanded with around 160 ultra-rapid devices across the UK.
High-power charging hubs are also becoming more common, especially in places like Northern Ireland, where two new hubs were set up. The South West saw 11 new hubs, and there are now 30 in the region. The East of England leads with 42 hubs, followed by Scotland with 39 and the North West with 38.
On-street charging points are growing too. Over 1,400 new chargers were installed from January to March, bringing the total to 21,475. Most of these are in Greater London, but other parts of the UK are catching up fast.
Overall, it’s an exciting time for electric car drivers, with more charging options popping up everywhere, from supermarkets to motorway services. Zapmap, which tracks these installations, says this progress is boosting confidence for drivers considering making the switch to electric vehicles.
Do you want to make the switch?