Electric car drivers in the UK now have access to 10,000 high-powered public chargers, according to the latest data. 

New figures from mapping service Zapmap show that the milestone was reached with the recent installation of a high-powered charging unit at Sedbergh Leisure Centre in Bradford as part of the GeniePoint network.

It means there are now 10,000 rapid or ultra-rapid devices spread over 5,000 locations around the UK - up from 8,000 in May 2023 and more than double the number three years ago.  

Zapmap’s figures show that the overall charger installation rate is acceleration and that a growing proportion of new chargers are ultra-rapid units, capable of delivering at least 100kW. At the end of 2020, there were 788 devices in the UK offering 100kW or more - accounting for 20% of the country’s high-powered chargers. Now, there are 4,504 devices of 100kW or over, representing 45% of all rapid and ultra-rapid chargers.

Many of these super-fast devices are appearing at the growing number of charging hubs springing up alongside motorways and other key roads. Zapmap’s analysis shows there are now 239 charging hubs - sites with six or more devices - compared with just 99 at the end of 2022. 

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and COO at Zapmap, commented: “Hitting the 10,000 high-powered charging devices mark is really important for electric car drivers across the country. Having surpassed 8,000 rapid and ultra-rapid devices as recently as May 2023, it’s fantastic to see this latest milestone arrive just in time for Christmas.

“The availability of more than 5,000 charging locations with rapid or ultra-rapid chargers spread right across the country, many of which are hubs, will give drivers confidence to drive electric wherever they go during the festive period.”

A growing number of hubs are offering multiple high-powered devices