The shocking truth about charging electric cars: One in five power points is the fast tech version

Fewer than one in five electric car chargers installed last year was a rapid version – threatening the target of banning new petrol and diesel vehicle sales by 2030.

It is feared that drivers will be reluctant to make the switch to plug-in cars if they believe there are not enough ways to top up quickly.

Just 17 per cent of new public chargers in 2021 had rapid or ultra-rapid connections which can recharge cars in 30 to 45 minutes, official record published a month ago show.

The rapid versions are seen as crucial to overcoming motorists’ ‘range anxiety’ which causes them to fear batteries will run out between charges, leaving them stranded.

It can take hours to recharge a battery with a standard powering point. 

Fewer than one in five electric car chargers installed last year was a rapid version – threatening the target of banning new petrol and diesel vehicle sales by 2030. It is feared that drivers will be reluctant to make the switch to plug-in cars if they believe there are not enough ways to top up quickly

The number of public chargers increased by 7,600 in 2021 to a total of 28,300 across the UK, official government record revealed last month.

However, only 1,276 rapid or ultra-rapid versions were installed last year, bringing the total to 5,200.

It comes as electric car ownership rocketed by nearly 590 per cent between 2019 and 2021, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. 

But the number of standard chargers grew by just 70 per cent and rapid plug-in points by 82 per cent over that period. 

It means electric car ownership is outpacing the rollout of chargers by far.

The RAC and SMMT said a quicker rollout is needed if the Government is to hit its 2030 target. 

New hybrid car sales will be banned by 2035.

Sarah Winward-Kotecha, of the RAC, said: ‘Having enough public chargers is vital to encouraging the mass take-up of electric cars, but that’s only one part of the jigsaw – the speed of these chargers is also extremely important.

‘These latest figures show we still have a long way to go.’

Just 17 per cent of new public chargers in 2021 had rapid or ultra-rapid connections which can recharge cars in 30 to 45 minutes. Pictured: A rapid charging point for electric vehicles in a Lidl supermarket car park in Epsom

The rollout of public chargers could become an issue which threatens the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda. 

Figures show one connection for every 30 electric cars in the South but one for every 50 in the North.

Cheaper electric vehicles can currently only cover around 200 to 250 miles on average between charges.

A Department for Transport spokesman said £1.3billion will support the charge point rollout and drivers are ‘never more than 25 miles from a rapid charge point anywhere along England’s major A roads and motorways’.

The RAC’s analysis comes a day after the SMMT called for the introduction of an electric car charging infrastructure watchdog to be instated to monitor the acceleration of device installations and to ensure they are future-proof, easy to access and have transparent pricing. 

One public charging device is installed for every 25 electric cars registered amid concerns over North-South divide in availability

by Rob Hull, MailOnline and ThisisMoney Motoring Editor 

The number of public charge points for electric vehicles grew 37 per cent last year, though a North-South divide is expanding in terms of which areas have the worst and best access to devices, according to data published by the Department for Transport.

An additional 7,600 new charger installations have been added to the country’s network in the last 12 months, taking the total to 28,375 publicly-accessible plug-in points.

However, the data shows that London has benefitted from a much faster expansion of its charging infrastructure than any other region, with 102 devices per 100,000 of its population, while areas like the North West have just 24 per 100,000 people.

There are also growing concerns that infrastructure is failing to keep pace with the number of electric cars entering the road, with one new public device added for every 24 zero-emission vehicle registered last year. 

The UK’s public charging network for electric cars is growing, but more so in some regions than others, with an expanding divide between the North and South

The data shows that of the 7,600 new devices added in 2021, some 1,276 were ‘rapid’ chargers, which offer the fastest charging speeds and therefore shortest sessions.

This was a growth of a third compared to the start of the previous year and takes the rapid network to 5,156 charge points – around 18 per cent of the UK’s total public charging infrastructure.  

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps celebrated the news in a Twitter post last month, stating: ‘As we head towards a cleaner transport future, we’re boosting green jobs & making the switch to EVs easier than ever before!’

This chart shows the growth in the UK’s public charging infrastructure in the last 7 years. An additional 7,600 new charger installations have been added to the country’s network

This second graph shows the growth in ‘rapid’ devices, which offer the fastest charging speeds. Some 18% of the UK’s total public network is these faster chargepoints, the DfT says

However, the official data shows there is growing disparity between the areas of the country with the best and worst access to public chargers.

Availability of devices in London grew significantly in 2021, up from 69 devices per 100,000 of population at the end of 2020 to 102 by the start of this year. 

It means the capital now has double the availability of public devices per inhabitants than the next best region, which is Scotland with 52 charge points per 100,000 of population. 

Scotland has the most rapid chargers, gulfing even London with 12.9 devices per 100,000 of population compared to the capital’s eight. 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Northern Ireland has seen a far slower rate of expansion of its network, with public charge point numbers rising from 17 to just 18 per every 100,000 people in the previous 12 months. 

In terms of rapid devices, it has a mere 1.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. 

The DfT paper says the ‘uneven geographical distribution of charging devices’ is due to some UK local authorities bidding for government funding towards the installation of new charging devices and others failing to do so. 

It also added: ‘Most of the provision of this infrastructure has been market-led, with individual charging networks and other businesses (such as hotels) choosing where to install devices.’  

Availability of devices in London grew significantly in 2021, up from 69 devices per 100,000 of population at the end of 2020 to 102 by the start of this year

This data shows the number of total public charging devices in each region per 100k people. It shows that London is miles ahead of the rest of the country in terms of availability

This chart shows only rapid device availability in each region, which shows that EV owners in Scotland have the best access to the fastest chargepoints. Northern Ireland lags far behind for both total and rapid device availability 

With over 190,000 battery electric vehicles registered in 2021, it means there was one new public chargepoint added for every 24 electric cars last year

Concerns grow for a lagging charging infrastructure 

The report comes after industry bosses this month warned MPs that there was a growing North-South divide in terms of electric vehicle uptake – with wealthier southern postcodes dominating where EVs are purchased – but also in terms of public charger availability. 

In the last year alone, 190,728 battery electric vehicles were registered in the UK. With 7,600 public chargers installed in the same 12 months, it means there is one charger per 25 electric models entering the road. In terms of rapid chargers, it is one new device for ever 150 EVs registered in 2021.

If you also include plug-in hybrid cars, the total of new vehicles registered that can access public chargers was 305,281 – that’s a public chargepoint for every 40 vehicles.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the government would need to address these issues in the ‘medium term’, else it could risk Boris Johnson’s ‘levelling up’ efforts.

Ben Foulser, head of future mobility at analyst firm KPMG UK, said: ‘As electric vehicle adoption rises, it’s encouraging to see more public charging points installed. 

‘But there’s no doubt that the pace of delivery will have to increase in order to both cope with the demand of the coming years, and to convince others to transition to EVs.

‘It’s also vital that any use of public funding to de-risk investment by the private sector is targeted and successful. 

‘This includes development of commercially attractive portfolios that incorporate rural and smaller sites, enabling a just transition to zero-emission mobility across the UK.’