Power Surge: UK's EV charging rollout gathers pace

Under current plans, the UK is set to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. At that point, the government wants a minimum of 300,000 public chargers installed, supporting what it hopes will be a smooth transition to electric vehicles (EVs), where everyone can charge at will, with a minimum of inconvenience.

The latest figures from ZapMap – a digital database/app that tracks UK charging infrastructure - show that there are now around 37,000 public charge points, housing roughly 61,000 total connections. The experience of using these public chargers can differ wildly, depending on your circumstances. For those with driveways who can charge at home, public charging is often just a top-up on a long journey, a chance to stretch the legs while ‘ultra-rapid’ chargers add dozens of miles of range in minutes, often at bespoke motorway facilities designed precisely for this purpose. For the almost two-thirds of the UK population without a driveway, the charging experience can be more of a challenge.