Electric Vehicle Drivers Now Have Access To More Than 50,000 Public Chargepoints Across The UK

The number of public chargepoints that electric vehicle (EV) drivers in the UK can make use of is now more than 50,000, the Department for Transport (DfT) has said.
The UK Government said that the reaching of the “key milestone” would assist with the country’s transition to EVs, adding that the UK was “on target” to install 300,000 public EV chargepoints by the end of this decade.
“Another step on the road to zero emission driving”
Many transport consultants and their clients are likely to take great interest in the achievement of the landmark figure for public EV chargepoints, which the DfT hailed as an indicator of the country having “taken another step on the road to zero emission driving”.
The Government said that the latest statistics – released on 13th December – had been produced using data supplied by the EV charging app and digital services provider, Zapmap.
The department also drew attention to the fact that – according to the newly released statistics – the number of public chargepoints had gone up by 44% since the same time in 2022. In total, the DfT said, there were now 52,602 public chargepoints for EVs in the UK.
The Government also used its media release to trumpet its other environmental credentials in relation to transport, despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision in September to put back the UK ban on new petrol and diesel cars by five years to 2035.
The zero-emission vehicle mandate (ZEV) requires that 80% of new cars, and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain, be zero emission by 2030. The Government said that the mandate would ensure the UK has the world’s most ambitious regulatory framework for the switch to EVs.
Already in 2023, the DfT said, EVs constituted 16% of the car market in the UK, which the department said was one of the highest shares among European countries, and above the European Union (EU)’s average of 13%.
Minister talks up the Government’s success in expanding the EV charging network
Responding to the newly released figures, Technology and Decarbonisation Minister, Anthony Browne, stated: “Passing 50,000 public chargepoints is a key milestone in our journey to zero-emission driving and shows the incredible progress we’ve made to provide the infrastructure for drivers to go electric.”
He added: “With government and private-sector investment, we are backing drivers by expanding our charging network – creating jobs and putting us well on the way to our target of 300,000 public chargepoints by 2030.”
The Government also highlighted recent high-profile investments in gigafactories and EV manufacturing in the UK, including by the likes of Nissan, Tata, BMW, Ford, and Stellantis.
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