According to the data from Zapmap, there are now more than 50,000 public charging devices installed across the country. Operated by en-route provider MFG EV Power, the 50,000th charging device to be installed was an ultra-rapid device at a service station in Weston-super-Mare.

The milestone reflects encouraging growth in two key areas of the country’s charge point infrastructure. Last week, Zapmap’s quarterly statistics showed that the number of ultra-rapid charge points in the UK increased by 68% since September 2022, with the number of slow chargers increasing by almost 68% as well.

Indeed, the timing of the milestone also demonstrates the acceleration in the rate of charge point installation over recent years. October’s 50,000 charge point milestone follows hot on the heels of the 40,000 mark, which the UK surpassed in February 2023. In this case, the milestone installation was part of the GeniePoint network, at Morrisons Southport.

Looking back further, the UK hit 30,000 charging devices in February 2022 (bp pulse, Botany Bay), which followed the 20,000 mark in September 2020 (Pod Point, Tesco Superstore Scarborough). The 10,000 charging devices milestone came in August 2018, with the installation of an InstaVolt device at Meadowfield Filling Station.

Looking ahead, given the current rate of installation, Zapmap’s calculations show that the UK is likely to reach 100,000 charging devices as early as August 2025.

Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-founder & COO at Zapmap, said:

“Hitting 50,000 public charging devices is a really important milestone for the country and illustrates the sea change behind the increased rate of charge point installations. 

“Having passed 40,000 charge points in February, our predictions are that there will be 100,000 chargers as early as August 2025 – which would certainly be a major achievement.

“Alongside the number of high-power charging hubs in the UK more than doubling in the past year, as we saw last week, these are changes that bring real benefits to electric car drivers up and down the country.”

Ian Johnson, Chair of ChargeUK, said:

“This is a significant milestone and a testament to the investment, vision and hard work of our members.

“The rate of deployment is increasing all the time, in the last 12 months alone the public charge point network has increased by 43%. However, we can go further and faster with the right policies and help from government to remove barriers that constrain the roll-out.

“Public chargers are part of a wider picture. The way people charge their EV depends on their lifestyle, many people charge at home, others charge on their street, whilst many will either charge at destinations or en route on their journeys.

“Our members are focussed on ensuring drivers have access to the right charger in the right place.”

The milestone demonstrates the acceleration in the rate of charge point installation over recent years.

Dan Caesar, CEO at Fully Charged, said:

“Hitting this milestone is a great achievement from the country’s charge point operators, and excellent news for anyone who drives an electric car or is thinking of getting one.

“Despite what you might read in some sections of the press, the upwards trend in the growth of the charging network could not be clearer.

“For those who are considering a switch to electric, you won’t regret it. Not only are electric cars essential for reaching Net Zero but they are simply better – and there are now over 50,000 places across the country where you can charge yours up again.”

William Bannister, CEO of MFG, said:

“I’m delighted that it was an MFG installation which brought Zapmap to a milestone as significant as 50,000 charging devices.

“It’s great to see statistics like this from Zapmap, not least because they highlight all the hard work that’s going into establishing a robust public charging network across the country.

“MFG are rolling out chargers at a significant pace, having recently hit our own milestone of 500 ultra-rapid chargers – and are already well on the way to delivering the next 500.

“As a network that brings fast, clean energy to electric car drivers across the country, we’re proud to partner with Zapmap and make paying for charging that much easier with Zapmap’s payment solution.”

James Court, CEO at EVA England, said:

“50,000 is a significant landmark, and shows the undeniable growth of charging infrastructure in the UK.

“Lack of charging, both real and perceived, is the biggest issue holding back electric vehicles, and hopefully we will see the blockers in planning and grid removed so that 50K milestones happen more frequently in the future.”

An MFG EV Power device was the 50,000th charging device to be installed.

Ade Thomas, Founder of World EV Day, said: 

“There has been a great deal of negative press about the number of public chargers. With the 50,000 threshold having been hit, on the UK’s journey to being an EV nation, we should now start really talking up what a great job the British green tech sector are doing bringing this huge number of EV chargers online, and all in super quick time.”

All 50,000 charge points can be found on the Zapmap app, where electric car drivers can locate a charger to suit their needs. This may be a high-powered device to charge up on a long journey, a destination charger at a retail outlet or car park to top up while parked, or an on-street charger suitable for overnight charging.

In parallel, Zapmap Insights has developed a range of products that enable the industry to understand charge point profiles as well as the patterns of utilisation across the UK’s public charging network, helping to support both benchmarking requirements and investment decisions. Find out more on the Zapmap website.