Nearly a million charge points installed in the UK, research finds

ChargeUK has published a new White Paper on the state of the electric vehicle (EV) charging network. 
 
The analysis has shown that nearly one million charge points have already been installed, with provision on track for 2030.
 
Working with independent transport research organisation New AutoMotive, they found that a new public charge point is being installed every 25 minutes.

There are nearly a million home, work and public charge points in the UK today, almost one for every fully EV.

It also found that current infrastructure can provide enough power to enable every EV in the UK to drive 580 miles a day – 25 times the average daily car journey and further than the distance between London to Aberdeen.

If current growth continues, the rollout of public chargers will track ahead of EV adoption and there will be over 300,000 public charge points in the UK by 2030. 

The analysis also suggested that to enable the charging sector to stay on track for 2030, the new government must take steps to remove grid, planning and permitting barriers, make owning and charging an EV easy and affordable speed up existing public subsidy schemes. 
 
Charge point networks can deliver nearly seven gigawatts of power every day, enough power to enable every single one of the UK’s EVs to drive 580 miles a day – over 25 times further than the average daily journey (21 miles) and further than the distance between London and Aberdeen. 
 
To keep accelerating at today’s pace and stay on track for 2030, ChargeUK said the charging sector needs the new government to remove the grid, planning and permitting delays slowing the process down, make charging and owning an EV as easy and affordable as possible by equalising VAT on charging and maximise private investment.
 
Vicky Read, CEO of ChargeUK, said: “In little more than a decade, the UK’s charging sector has grown to become a major player in the green economy, providing the infrastructure that more than a million EV drivers rely on today and scaling fast to deliver the charging needed through to 2030 and beyond. 
 
“Convenient and affordable charging for all is key to the UK’s switch to EVs. This new analysis will give current and future EV drivers confidence that the charging infrastructure will be there for them. 
 
“While the outlook is positive, there is still work to be done. Delivering what the UK needs by 2030 means continuing to grow at pace, ensuring that deployment ramps up in locations that have been hampered by delays, and ensuring the UK has a thriving EV market, so that investment in infrastructure continues at scale."