EV
EV charging in the UK: key statistics and trends
How many public chargers there are, how fast the network is growing, where rapid chargers are, and how many electric cars share each public charging device.
Preview story. The figures here are illustrative demo data, not official statistics.
- 96,870 public charging devices
- +22% growth over the past year
The public charging network has grown quickly, but unevenly. There were 96,870 public charging devices at the end of June 2026, 22% more than a year earlier.
Growth is fastest in towns and cities
Most new devices are slower on-street and car park chargers in towns and cities, installed by local authorities and chargepoint operators. Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers, which matter most for long journeys, are a smaller share of the total and are concentrated along the strategic road network.
Electric cars per charger
The number of plug-in cars on the road has grown faster than the network in some areas. We compare licensed battery electric cars with public devices in each local authority to show where drivers are most likely to find chargers busy. Areas with lots of homes without driveways depend most on public charging.
Where the numbers come from
Device counts come from the Department for Transport’s quarterly statistics, which are based on Zapmap data. Electric car numbers come from DVLA licensing statistics. The methodology explains how we combine them.