Electric car charging in the UK: everything you need to know

► Tenfold expansion in chargepoints by 2030
► Guide to electric car charging in UK
► The ins and outs of charging your EV

New data has revealed the current state of electric car charging points in the UK, and it’s both good news and bad news for EV owners – especially those in London. According to new research from Zap Map provided to the UK department of transport, 8680 new charging points were installed across the UK in 2022 – bringing the total figure up to 37,055 as of January 2023, a 31% increase on the year before. However, that growth hasn’t been distributed equally across the United Kingdom, with some regions falling behind and others pulling way ahead. 

Best charging networks in the UK 2023

The largest growth was seen in Wales and the West Midlands, but the most interesting news comes from the capital, which ranks as the most plentiful with 131 chargers per 100,000 people. Compare that to national average of 56, and the North West which lags behind the rest of the country with just 31 chargers per cohort of 100,000. 

The only other catch? EVs sells are growing faster than chargers are being built:  hybrid and electric car sales were up to 1,003,000 in September; that’s 54% more than the year before – and worryingly 23% more than the 31% increase in the number of charging points.

The UK charging roadmap

The government will build more than 270,000 new public chargers by 2030 in order to keep up with anticipated demand following the announcement of the petrol and diesel ban and the increase in popularity of electric cars.

A total of £1.6 billion has been put aside for the chargers. The aim is to support people without access to off-street charging and improve fast charging infrastructure for long journeys by increasing the number of public charging points from around 30,000 to 300,000. Once installed, the UK will have around five times as many chargers as it does fuel pumps.

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Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘Clean transport isn’t just better for the environment, but is another way we can drive down our dependence on external energy supplies. It will also create new high-skilled jobs for our automotive and energy sectors and ultimately secure more sustainable and affordable motoring for all.’

New chargers

As part of the scheme, new legal requirements will see drivers of EVs able to pay by contactless, compare charging prices and find nearby chargepoints via apps.

These plans will also require a 99 per cent reliability rate at rapid chargepoints to ensure they are ‘world-class’.

How’s the money being spent?

£500 million will be invested to bring public chargepoints to communities across the UK. This includes a £450 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund, which will boost projects such as EV hubs and on-street charging.

Meanwhile, the LEVI funding also includes up to £50 million to fund staff to work on local challenges and public chargepoint planning.

The existing £950 million Rapid Charging Fund will support the rollout of at least 6,000 high powered super-fast chargepoints across England’s motorways by 2035.

Reactions

There’s been a mixed set of reactions from the industry.

Managing Director of Vauxhall, Paul Willcox, said: ‘Whilst we welcome the Government’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, we feel that it is a missed opportunity to provide certainty to customers by mandating binding targets on the roll-out of the charging infrastructure in the UK.

‘It is essential that infrastructure keeps pace with market demand, or in fact leads demand, to remove any customer fears of ‘charging anxiety’ and accelerates the electrification of Britain’s roads as quickly as possible.’

Automotive manager for online mapping company HERE Technologies, Filip Klippel, said: ‘With less than a decade remaining, hundreds will need to be added every day to sufficiently meet this target and deliver the so-called green industrial revolution.

‘If the promise of today’s announcement is met, and it is still an ‘if’ at this stage, then the UK should expect a greener future where the country and individuals can hit their sustainability goals.’

EV public charging: topping-up away from home

Have you been thinking about ditching your petrol or diesel car for an electric one? If so, it might feel like quite a daunting proposition and a big leap to make – but worry not; advances in both technology and infrastructure are making the transition far easier than you might think.

For starters, ever-improving batteries and EV hardware are resulting in notable increases in the real-world range of electric vehicles. This, in conjunction with quicker charging, often means there’s less justification for range anxiety. Similarly, the UK’s charging infrastructure continues to expand and become more easily accessed. If you can charge at home overnight, it might be the case that you rarely have to use a public charging station.

On this page, we’ll explain everything you need to know about EV charging in the UK – from where things are headed, to the types of charger you can currently connect to, how to charge at home and how to find the best public charging network.

Electric car charging: find your nearest station

ZapMap is one of the most useful resources for any EV owner, and regardless of which electric car you’ve got, it’ll show a good deal of information. To find out your nearest electric charging station, head to this link and then type in your postcode.

After that you’ll be shown a map with all your local EV charging stations, and each site is colour-coded depending on the type of charging on offer. ZapMap has a community element – so you’ll be able to see any problems reported with chargers, too. Google Maps also provides locations for electric car chargers too, so it’s easier than ever to find somewhere to top up.

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Electric car charging: planning your journey

Most modern EV sat-nav systems include charging stops when planning a route – but if you’re keen to check your route before you get in the car, ZapMap is also the best place to go. You’ll need to create an account first, but after that getting a suitable route is as easy as going to the route planner and entering your destination and starting point.

The map will then show charging stations along the way, and you can drag a slider to show suitable charging plugs further afield if needed.

If you’ve got a Tesla, you’ll be able to use a more bespoke tool. Elon Musk’s EV company launched a journey planner which helps you map out any route with your EV. Because the tool is specific to Tesla, it’s able to carefully calculate your route based on the range of your car – and it’ll also favour Tesla’s own speedier Supercharger network, too. You can try the tool out here.

Further electric car reading

What charging stations are available in the UK?

The number of charging points in the UK is growing all the time – it went up 31% in the last 12 months – and they’re being provided by a range of new and existing networks. As previously mentioned, the highest concentration of chargers exists in London, though areas such as the West Midlands are catching up and should be more saturated in the years to come.

The picture is only set to improve, as OEMs such as Mercedes and Audi look set to build their own rivals to the Tesla Supercharger network.

Read this for a thorough rundown of the best charging networks in the UK

Electric car charging: types and connectors 

Like any new bit of technology, electric cars currently use multiple standards of connection. But this isn’t as stressful as the Betamax, VHS war though; most cars feature at least two types of connector, and adaptors are easy to use. EVs are very clear on what type of connector you can use, and it’s almost impossible to use the wrong charger in the wrong EV – this isn’t like petrol or diesel. What’s more, apps such as ZapMap make things even easier: you set the electric car you own, and the app will show you compatible chargers nearby. In a worst-case scenario, you’ll be able to charge – but you might not get the fastest possible charging speed.

At present, charging comes in three flavours, with a handful of different connections used for each.

1. Rapid chargers

As you’d expect, these are the fastest type of charger, and comes in both AC and DC forms. Both of these standards operate at between 43kW to 50kW of power, and that means they’re able to charge 80% of a battery in 30 minutes to an hour. Rapid AC chargers will use a Type 2 connector, while Rapid DC connectors use CCS or the catchy CHAdeMO standard. And one more thing. Tesla’s Superchargers count as rapid chargers, and they use their own bespoke connection to achieve transfer of up to 120kW. Still, adaptors are available.

2. Fast chargers

A fast charger is anything classed as between 7kW and 22kW, and will charge an EV in up to four hours. While not as fast as rapid chargers – and about four-times slower – they are probably the most common type of charger in the UK right now. These are ideal for home use, too.

3. Slow chargers

A slow charger is regarded as anything up to 3kW, and is therefore used primarily for overnight charging. This is trickle-charging for electric cars, and your last resort when it comes to topping up. The good news? You can use any domestic three-pin plug to slow charge at home. The bad news? It’ll take between hours and maybe even days, depending on the size of your battery…

Further electric car reading

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