Record number of EV chargers installed in the UK last quarter

A record number of public electric vehicle charging stations were installed in the UK this quarter, as charging companies struggle to keep up with the growing number of plugin cars on British roads.

Almost 6,000 new EV chargers were installed in the UK during the first three months of 2024, according to quarterly figures from data company Zapmap and published by the UK’s Department for Transport. Approx. 25% (about 1500) were DC fast chargers.

There were nearly 60,000 public vehicle chargers energized and active in the UK as of April 1st, up nearly 49% compared to 2023 and nearly 2x the number of public chargers available in 2022. Ben Nelmes, CEO of automotive think tank New AutoMotive, says the recent expansion of the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure has brought public charging to areas that had previously been poorly served. This is thanks, in part, to local governments gradually taking advantage of central government grants to put more EV chargers in the ground.

“I think there is a coming together of two things,” Nelmes told The Guardian. “Some of the barriers have been mitigated. And the private sector has woken up to the opportunity.”

Another tidbit from that Guardian article was a survey conducted by the Electric Vehicle Association of some of the UK’s one million plus EV drivers. The survey found that only 6% of EV drivers in England reported experiencing range anxiety either very often or fairly often, while 94% of EV drivers said they had range anxiety occasionally, rarely, or never.

Electrek’s Take

More than half of the more than 15,000 famous London “black cabs” are now electrified (effectively EVs with range-extending ICEs on board), with the majority of London’s largest taxi and minicab services committed to operating fully electrified fleets by 2025.

Let that serve as your gentle reminder that EV sales are down, except at Ford, Cadillac, GMC, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Acura, Volvo, Chrysler, etc. …