Official Statistics

Electric vehicle public charging infrastructure statistics: July 2024

Published 30 July 2024

About this release

This release presents statistics on the number of publicly available electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, broken down by local authority for April to June 2024. Data is provided by the electric vehicle and charging point platform Zapmap and is correct as at midnight 1 July 2024.

These statistics are released under the ‘official statistics in development’ label – formerly called experimental statistics. For more information, see the methodology note.

The timeline of this publication series includes periods of coronavirus (COVID-19) related restrictions. As such, figures in this release may be affected and should be interpreted with caution.

The next quarterly report is scheduled for release in October 2024.

Charging device speed categories changed in October 2023. The new categories are 3 kilowatts (kW) up to 8kW, 8kW to 49kW, 50kW to 149kW and 150kW and above. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) are working with industry on a naming convention for these new categories. Until then we will refer to speed categories by their power rating banding in this release series.

Due to this change in speed categories, please interpret time series data with caution.

We welcome feedback on this quarterly publication. If you would like to provide feedback please email us.

Headline figures

As of 1 July 2024, there were 64,632 public electric vehicle charging devices installed in the UK, within which:

Charging Speed:

  • 12,474 had 50kW of power or above, this represents 19% of all charging devices
  • 38,468 had a power rating of 3kW up to 8kW, this represents 60% of all charging devices

Location:

  • 30,921 were designated as ‘destination’ chargers, this represents 48% of all charging devices
  • 23,988 were designated as ‘on street’ chargers, this represents 37% of all charging devices

Compared to 1 April 2024:

  • total installed devices increased by 4,962, an increase of 8%
  • there was an increase in the number of public charging devices in all regions of the UK except the North East (which had a decrease of 1.2%)

Compared to 1 July 2023:

  • total installed devices increased by 20,612, an increase of 47%

UK growth in public charging devices

Table 01a and Table 01b provide a breakdown of public charging devices in each local authority in the UK whilst Table 03 shows the change in the number of devices since 2015. These tables are published alongside this report.

Chart 1: Public charging devices in the UK, midnight, 1 of month, since 2015 (table 03)

Chart 1 is a bar chart showing the consistent growth in total public charging devices since January 2015. Compared to 1 July 2023, total installed devices increased by 20,612, an increase of 47%.

Chart 2: Public higher powered charging devices in the UK, midnight, 1 of month, since 2015 (table 03)

Chart 2 is a bar chart showing the consistent growth in higher powered devices since January 2015. Due to the change in speed categories in October 2023, this time series is broken and should be interpreted with caution. This chart shows the number of 25kW and above devices (previously referred to as ‘rapid or above devices’) in each quarter up to October 2023. October 2023 onwards displays the number of 50kW and above devices. As of 1 July 2024, there were 12,474 50kW and above public charging devices, this accounted for 19% of all charging devices.

Speed of charging devices

Chart 3: Public charging devices by charging speed 1 July 2024 (table 04)

Chart 3 is a doughnut chart showing the proportion of charging devices across speed categories. The largest speed category was 3kW up to 8kW, which accounted for 38,468 (60%) of all charging devices. The smallest speed cateory was 150kW plus, which accounted for 8% (5,314) of all charging devices.

Location of charging devices

Chart 4: Public charging devices by destination of charging device 1 July 2024 (table 05)

Chart 4 is a doughnut chart showing the proportion of charging devices across location categories. The most common location category for charging devices was ‘destination’ accounting for 30,921 charging devices or 48% of all publicly available charging devices. ‘On street’ charging devices accounted for 37% of charging devices or 23,988. Further information can be found in Annex B.

Charging device location categories are defined based on both the type of facility they are located in and who can access this but also the type of charging service they are designed to deliver.

On street: Charging devices located on residential streets only.

En route: Charging devices located for charging to continue a journey. Located in motorway service areas, service stations, electric forecourts and ferry terminals. Additionally 50kW and above charging devices in hotels, restaurants and attractions.

Destination: Charging devices located at the end of an Electric Vehicle journey or where a driver may typically stop for an extended period of time. Consists of both 50kW and above and 49kW and below charging devices located in retail car parks, car parks, leisure, education areas and transport (except ferries), in addition 49kW and below charging devices located at hotels and restaurants.

Other: Charging devices which are semi-public with some level of access restrictions such as workplace car parks and dealership forecourts.

Regional distribution of charging devices

There is an uneven geographical distribution of charging devices within the UK. Some local authorities have bid for government funding for charging devices, and others have not. Most of the provision of this infrastructure has been market-led, with individual charging networks and other businesses (such as hotels) choosing where to install devices.

Chart 5: Public charging devices per 100,000 of population by UK country and region: 1 July 2024 (table 02a)

Chart 5 is a bar chart showing the variation in total device provision across each region and country of the UK. London and Scotland had the highest level of charging provision per 100,000 of population, with 234 and 103 devices per 100,000 respectively. In comparison, the average provision in the UK was 96 per 100,000.

Northern Ireland had the lowest level of charging device provision in the UK, with 32 devices per 100,000, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber with 56 devices per 100,000.

Chart 6: Public 50kW and above charging devices per 100,000 of population by UK country and region: 1 July 2024 (table 02b)

Chart 6 is a bar chart showing the variation in 50kW and above device provision across each region and country of the UK. Scotland had the highest rate of 50kW and above device provision at 26.1 charging devices rated 50kW and above per 100,000, whilst the average provision in the UK was 18.5 per 100,000. 50kW and above charging device provision was lowest for Northern Ireland with 7.9 charging devices rated 50kW and above per 100,000. London was the second lowest region with 13.7 charging devices rated 50kW and above per 100,000.

Maps 1 and 2: Total and 50kW and above public charging devices per 100,000 of population by UK region 1 July 2024

Maps 1 and 2 are maps of the UK displaying the geographic variation in charging devices, with the number of devices labelled on each area of the map corresponding to a UK region or country.

An interactive map of this data is available and breaks device provision down further to local authority level.

Quarterly change in public charging devices

Maps 3 and 4: Change in public charging devices, per region between April to June 2024; percentage and (number of devices)

Map 3 is a map of the UK that shows the percentage change in the number of total charging devices between April to June 2024. The West Midlands had the greatest increase at 14.3%. London had the greatest increase in absolute number of devices at 1,238 devices, followed by the West Midlands at 689. There was a decrease of 1.2% in the North East.

Map 4 is a map of the UK that shows the percentage change in the number of 50kW and above devices between April to June 2024. Northern Ireland had the largest percentage increase at 13.5%, an increase of 18 devices rated 50kW and above. There was a decrease of 0.7% in the North East.

Please note that this data represents available devices at a snapshot in time. Although an increase between two points in time likely reflects new installations, increases occur when devices are added to the dataset, which is not always the same as when they were installed. Decommissioned charging devices are also removed from the total number of devices. An increase in devices therefore reflects the net increase between the 2 snapshots of data in that period rather than the number of installations in that period. For more information please see the methodology note that accompanies this release series.

Further detail on the change in charging device numbers displayed in Maps 3 and 4 can be found in Annex C.

Rural Urban Classification (England only)

From October 2023, this release has included the number of total charging devices (table 06a) and the number of 50kW and above charging devices (table 06b) in England by rural urban classification in table format.

Chart 7: Proportion of public charging devices available by rural urban classification in England, 1 July 2024

Chart 7 is a treemap showing the breakdown of charging devices in England according to rural or urban classification. In England, 85.1% of public charging devices were in an urban setting.The urban classification with the largest proportion of charging devices was urban major conurbation (49% of all devices). The rural classification with the largest proportion of charging devices was rural village and dispersed (7.5% of all devices). Further rural urban classification breakdowns including for 50kW and above charging devices can be found in the tables published alongside this report.

Parliamentary Constituencies

From October 2023 we have published the number of total charging devices (table 07a) and the number of 50kW and above charging devices (table 07b) by parliamentary constituency in table format.

About these statistics

These statistics are released under the ‘official statistics in development’ label – formerly called experimental statistics. Official statistics in development are official statistics that are temporarily undergoing a development and are being tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

These statistics do not meet the rigorous quality standards of accredited official statistics, for example with respect to partial coverage.

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure is a rapidly developing policy area, so this release series may develop alongside changes in policy and user interest. We welcome feedback from users of the statistics, which can be provided by emailing us.

More information about our methods and the development plan for these statistics can be found in the methodology note that accompanies this release series.

To hear more about DfT statistical publications as they are released, follow us on X at DfTstats.

Annex A: Public charging device by 100,000 population table

Table 1 - Total and 50kW and above public charging devices per 100,000 of population by UK region 1 July 2024

Region Devices per 100,000 population 50kW and above devices per 100,000 population
United Kingdom 95.6 18.5
North East 71.5 15.6
North West 59.5 17.2
Yorkshire and the Humber 55.9 15.8
East Midlands 63.0 21.7
West Midlands 91.7 21.2
East of England 69.9 18.7
London 233.6 13.7
South East 82.3 17.8
South West 80.0 22.5
Wales 88.5 18.7
Scotland 103.0 26.1
Northern Ireland 32.3 7.9

Annex B: Location of charging devices

Table 2 - Location of public charging devices 1 July 2024; number of devices and percentage of total

Location Number of devices Percentage of total
On street charging devices 23,988 37.1%
Destination charging devices 30,921 47.8%
En route charging devices 4,067 6.3%
Other charging devices 5,656 8.8%

Annex C: Regional changes table

Table 3 - Change in public charging devices, per region between April to June 2024; number of devices and percentage change

Region Total devices change Total devices change percent
United Kingdom 4,962 8.3%
North East -23 -1.2%
North West 522 13.2%
Yorkshire and the Humber 174 6%
East Midlands 264 9.3%
West Midlands 689 14.3%
East of England 402 9.9%
London 1,238 6.4%
South East 525 7.3%
South West 334 7.8%
Wales 228 9%
Scotland 536 10.6%
Northern Ireland 73 13.4%

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Electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics