Over 20,000 new charge points installed in 2024

More than 20,000 new charge points were installed throughout 2024, marking another year of record growth, according to the latest figures from Zapmap.

Last year's installations brought the total number across the country to 73,699 – a year-on-year increase of 38%. The rate of installation of charge points has also grown from an average of 1,400 per month to 1,650 per month.

Charge point growth was particularly strong in the ultra-rapid segment (150kW+), which saw an increase of 84% in installations since the end of 2023.

There are more than 7,000 150kW+ chargers, with a total of more than 14,000 over 50kW now available, while the number of hubs (six or more 50kW chargers) rose from 264 at the end of 2023 to 537 at the end of 2024.

Destination chargers continue to be boosted across the UK. There are 12,000 additional chargers now available at destinations such as restaurants, hotels, retail car parks and  leisure areas across the UK.

While the provision of on-street chargers – supporting those EV drivers without off-street parking – has grown, 72% of these chargers are concentrated in Greater London. Many other areas such as Coventry and Liverpool also have good local availability, but overall provision at a local level is still variable. With the LEVI  (Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) government funded projects starting to come to fruition, there should be a more equitable distribution of on-street charging provision towards the end of 2025.

Simultaneously, Zapmap’s statistics show significant progress in the distribution of en-route chargers outside London this year: nine out of 12 geographical areas of the UK now have over 1,000 50kW+ chargers. Wales and the North West continue to be less well covered, although they have made good progress over the course of 2024, while the pace of installations in Northern Ireland continues to lag.

Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-founder & COO at Zapmap, said: “Last year was another record year for charging infrastructure growth with en-route charging points in particular being installed ahead of the growth in electric vehicle sales.

“As we move into 2025, we can expect to see the benefits of the PCPR consumer regulations coming into effect combined with the impact  of LEVI funded projects reaching local authorities and bringing more equitable access to charging devices.

“Confirmation on a strong and clear ZEV mandate, following the  government’s recently communicated consultation, will also help to bring certainty and confidence to both infrastructure providers and UK drivers that the transition is happening now.”