The predictions for the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging points needed in the UK by 2030 vary widely and, to be fair, it is difficult to tell what kind of infrastructure we might need in 8 years’ time. That said, the UK government believes we will need 300,000.

The truth is that no one really knows how many charge points we’re going to need, and that includes the Department for Transport (DfT).

At the end of May 2022, Zap-Map (zap-map.com) reported that there were just over 32,000 charging stations with 54,000 connectors But only about 5800 of these were ultra-rapid or rapid.

The numbers are increasing but they don’t tell the whole story.

Firstly, is 300,000 the right number? With 11 million Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) predicted for 2030 it certainly seems a reasonable number particularly considering that most charging will take place at the home or the workplace.

However, we also have to take into consideration the geographical concentration of these charge points and at the moment the majority of public charging points is skewed in favour of certain geographical areas; Scotland, London and the South East of England have many more charge points per 100,000 of population than other parts of the UK.

The government says it will use its £500M local infrastructure support programme to ensure provision right across England with full consideration given to the spatial disparities setup in the levelling up white paper.

While it’s true most EV drivers will do their charging at home overnight, public charge points are needed for two main reasons; to enable long-distance journeys and to support those without off-street parking.

The government has pledged that every motorway service station will have at least six rapid charges by the end of 2023 with some having more than 12. There will also be more than 6000 high-powered charge points along our strategic roads by 2035.

So, while there is a long way to go, it would appear that the government has its sights set on a reasonable number of rapid public charging points to enable the current transport system to continue working proficiently.

As an EV driver, it’s easy to be critical sometimes of the lack of availability of charge points at critical locations in the UK but in the interests of balance I do feel that the pace of acceleration is going in the right direction and not only the number of public charging points but also the speed, reliability and ease of use of those charge points is moving in the right direction.

Be part of the future, today.

Adrian Cooper
Business Partnering
EVC Solutions Ltd


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Want to know more about EV Charging? Download ‘10 Things You Must Know About EV Charging’ here.