Britain’s uneven spread of electric car rapid chargers exposed

The Orkney Islands has only a few hundred electric vehicle owners but has the second highest concentration of rapid EV chargers of anywhere in Britain, according to analysis of official figures.

Despite having only 22,000 inhabitants, electric car owners already have access to 15 public fast chargers across the inhabited Islands, Department for Transport data shows.

In comparison, there are only three rapid charging devices available in Leicester, which has a population of over 350,000 and almost 2,500 EV drivers. 

Such a lack of consistency will frustrate electric car owners, especially those living in properties without driveways who are dependent on the availability of public devices, and makes it difficult for the Government to convince motorists who haven’t already made the switch consider an EV.

Britain’s uneven spread of EV chargers exposed: The Orkneys has more electric car public rapid charging points than Leicester, new analysis has revealed (Pictured: EV charging point in Stromness, Orkney Islands)

The latest DfT stats show that there are currently 44,020 public charging points available to EV drivers across the UK.

However, fewer than one in five (19 per cent) of these are ‘rapid’ or ‘ultra-rapid’ devices.

The numbers show that just 8,461 of nation’s public points are those that offer the quickest charge times – and they are far from evenly spread across the country.

LeaseLoco, the car leasing comparison site that conducted the analysis on public charging points numbers in July, highlighted the huge differences in available charging infrastructure by pointing out that it takes only around 45 mins to drive around the who of the mainland of the Orkney Islands, yet it has a higher density of rapid chargers than almost anywhere else in the UK.

The City of London (81.2 devices per 100,000 people) is the only local authority with a higher density of rapid chargers than the Orkneys (66.5 devices per 100,000), it found.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the huge disparity in terms of spread of rapid and ultra-rapid chargers across the UK charging network.

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Despite having only 22,000 inhabitants, electric car owners already have access to 15 public fast chargers across the inhabited Islands, Department for Transport data shows (Pictured, one of two charging points in Ferry Road car park on the Orkney Islands)

DfT’s own data shows the disparity in availability of rapid charging devices across the country, with Wales and the North West of England undersupplied compared to the rest of Britain

July data shows there are only 8,461 public rapid (25kW to 99kW) and ultra-rapid (100kW and higher) charging devices across the UK as the number of chargers increases gradually

Currently, there are only 8,461 public rapid (25kW to 99kW) and ultra-rapid (100kW and higher) charging devices across the UK, says DfT data supplied by EV charging site, Zap-Map.

The fastest of these can replenish an EV’s battery from 20 to 80 per cent charge in around half an hour.

Experts within the EV sector say these are the devices needed most across the country to allow for hassle-free long-distance journeys in EVs without the impracticality of needing to wait hours to charge. 

DfT data reveals that – outside of London – Milton Keynes (151) has more rapid charging devices than any other town or city in the UK.

Birmingham is second with 141 devices. 

However, when you compare volumes against other large cities and densely populated postcodes and the uneven spread of charging points is clear.

For instance, Liverpool has just 23 rapid chargers. These make up less than six per cent of all the public devices across the city. 

Harlow in Essex – which has a population of over 93,000 – doesn’t have any rapid chargers at all.

Cities and large towns with the most – and fewest – rapid chargers

MOST RAPID CHARGERS

1. Milton Keynes: 151

2. Birmingham: 141

3. Leeds: 111 

4. Wakefield: 80 

5. Edinburgh: 79

FEWEST RAPID CHARGERS

1. Harlow: 0

2. Woking: 2

=3. Leicester: 3

=3. Blackpool: 3

=3. Stevenage: 3

Source: LeaseLoco analysis of July DfT data 

Official government figures show that there are fewer rapid and ultra-rapid chargers across Britain than slower devices 

READ MORE: Two thirds of councils have no plans to install on-street chargers for EVs

Across all local authorities in the UK, almost 50 per cent have less than one in four chargers that are rapid or ultra-rapid.

Of those local authorities with more than 10 public rapid charging stations, Thurrock has the highest availability. Incredibly, three quarters (75 per cent) of its current network is made up of rapid and ultra-rapid devices. 

Another 32 local authorities offer at least 50 per cent rapid devices across their EV charging infrastructures.

Across the regions, Wales has made the most progress in growing its rapid charging network, with the number of installations increasing 78 per cent in the past 12 months.

London (24 per cent) and the North East (25 per cent) have made the slowest progress in growing their rapid charging availability over the past year.

Rapid and ultra-rapid public chargers have the highest speeds available across the public network. They can replenish an EV’s battery from 20 to 80% charge in around half an hour

John Wilmot, chief executive at LeaseLoco, says the uneven spread of rapid devices is proof of why range anxiety is no longer the biggest concern for electric car drivers, giving way to charging anxiety. 

‘The lack of rapid chargers across the UK is a genuine concern for electric car owners,’ John explains.

‘There is a desperate need, particularly on motorways, for more rapid charging devices or EV owners face lengthy wait times when charging their cars on the go.

‘There doesn’t appear to be any cohesion when it comes to rolling out rapid chargers. And the disparity across the country between areas when it comes to rapid charging is stark.

‘The inconsistency of coverage will frustrate those drivers who rely on the public charging network.’

Mr Wilmot adds that the uneven spread of rapid devices will ‘make the Government’s job that much hard to convince the public to switch early to electric’.

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