Companies installed 7,600 new EV chargers across the country last year
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James Arwood, Digital Editor
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by james arwood
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January 20, 2022
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The number of public EV chargers in the UK rose by 37% last year, government figures show, but there are huge regional differences in the network.

The latest figures from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) are for January 1, 2022, from charger map company Zap-Map.

As of that date, there were 28,375 public EV chargers available in the UK, 7,600 more than on 1 January 2021. This is also up 9% from the last survey conducted by the DfT in early October 2021.

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Of these, 5,156 were fast chargers, ie capable of charging at speeds of 25 kW or higher. This equates to a 33% year-over-year increase.

As a result, there are now 42 chargers and 7.7 fast chargers per 100,000 people in the UK – a ratio that would need to grow significantly before all new internal combustion engine cars and vans are banned by 2035.

The DfT also highlights large and growing geographic differences between the UK’s regions.

In terms of public chargers, London has 102 per 100,000 people, almost double the rest of the UK.

Meanwhile, Scotland has 52 chargers per 100,000 people, ahead of the South East (39), North East (36), South West (32) and Wales (33).

Northern Ireland has the lowest rate of chargers at 18 per 100,000 people. The lowest region in England is the North West (24), just behind Yorkshire and the Humber (26).

Scotland is well ahead of the rest of the UK when it comes to fast charging, with 12.9 units per 100,000 people. Both the North East and South East scored 8.6, ahead of London (8.0), the South West (7.9) and Wales (5.6). Northern Ireland is even further behind the UK in terms of fast charger supply, with 1.2 per 100,000 people.