The UK has witnessed a record number of installations of public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the first quarter of 2024, reflecting the increasing presence of plugin cars on British roads. Nearly 6,000 new EV chargers were installed during this period, with approximately 25% being DC fast chargers, according to quarterly figures from data company Zapmap, as published by the UK’s Department for Transport.
As of April 1st, the UK boasted nearly 60,000 active public vehicle chargers, marking a significant uptick of almost 49% compared to 2023 and nearly doubling the number of chargers available in 2022.
Ben Nelmes, CEO of automotive think tank New AutoMotive, noted that the recent expansion of the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure has significantly improved access to public charging, particularly in areas that were previously underserved. This expansion has been facilitated in part by local governments capitalizing on central government grants to install more EV chargers.
Nelmes commented on this development, stating, “I think there is a coming together of two things. Some of the barriers have been mitigated. And the private sector has woken up to the opportunity.”
A survey conducted by the Electric Vehicle Association of some of the UK’s one million-plus EV drivers revealed interesting insights regarding range anxiety. Only 6% of EV drivers in England reported experiencing range anxiety very often or fairly often, while 94% stated they had range anxiety occasionally, rarely, or never.
