UK Electric Car Charger Installations Surpass 1 Million

There were a total of up to 930,000 UK chargers by the end of June as per ChargeUK which is a lobby group

According to data there are almost 1 million electric car chargers in the UK. This figure is used as proof by the industry that the installations of the EV chargers are keeping up with the increasing sales of the battery vehicles. Electric vehicle industry says spring data shows installations are keeping pace with rising battery sales.

There were a total of up to 930,000 UK chargers by the end of June as per ChargeUK which is a lobby group. Although there are only roughly 65,000 chargers available for public use, the vast majority of them have been installed in houses and businesses. 

The types of public chargers range from slow chargers on lamp-posts to ultra-fast at motorway services. 

According to ChargeUK’s data, companies are attempting to keep up with the increased demand for EVs by adding a new charger every 25 minutes during the spring quarter. During the second quarter of 2024, companies have installed about 5,100 public chargers as per the data company Zapmap. 

The shift to electric vehicles from diesel and petrol vehicles has proved to be crucial for increasing global warming. An initiative to help the world limit global heating and carbon emissions. However, one major barrier preventing some drivers from making the conversion to electric cars is the belief that the distribution of charging stations is happening slowly.

According to the Chief Executive of ChargeUK, Vicky Read, the analysis predicted that some of those concerns may be hay wired. She said that the charging sector has grown to become one of the major players in the green economy in little less than a decade. It has provided a kind of infrastructure that scales fast to deliver the charging needs through to 2030 and beyond. It’s built in a way that more than 1 million EV drivers today can rely on it. 

About 1.1 million electric vehicles run on the UK roads out of which 167,000 cars are said to be sold in the first half of this year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Lobby Group. This amounts to an increase of 9% when compared to the previous year. Although the share of electric sales climbed somewhat to 16.6%, some purchasers were deterred by higher upfront fees and rising borrowing rates.

The power output in kilowatts (kW) is used to measure charging speeds, while the battery capacity is expressed in kilowatt hours (kWh). In addition, the size of the battery affects how long it takes to charge an automobile. For instance, the battery capacity of a Tesla Model Y is 60kWh, compared to 39kWh for a Nissan Leaf.

The thinktank new Automotive carried out an analysis by ChargeUK suggested that targets set by the Conservative government would be met by the private sector confidently of installing 300,000 public charge points by 2030. Although the opposition Labour party made promises to increase the number of charging points. It was unclear if the targets will be met of 300,000 and the process of how it will be done. 

Concerns rise in the charge point industry that the pace could slow down if necessary actions are nor taken by the government. Steps need to be taken to ease the approval process of permits and plans for public chargers and speed up the connections to the electricity grid. 

“While the outlook is positive, there is still work to be done,” Read said. 

Shell recharge is the leader in providing the highest number of charging points in the UK with almost reaching 9000 public charging points. It is owned by the FTSE 100 oil company. Pod Point and Connected Kerb are the next largest companies in a competitive market, with approximately 5,000 each.