This means almost half (48% – 55 sites) of the 114 motorway services in England now have six or more of these 150kW+ chargers, with many of these sites providing chargers that offer the very fastest speeds of up to 350kW. As a result the UK’s estimated 1.17m EV drivers can now charge up in a matter of minutes using 595 of these chargers.**
In 2022, the previous government set an ambition of having six or more high powered 50kW+ chargers at every motorway services areas in England by the end of 2023.*** While the new data shows this has not yet been met with 54% (61 sites) of motorway services areas having six or more 50kW+ chargers, developments within the charging industry mean the previous target has been somewhat eclipsed by the move to much faster chargers. Nearly two-thirds (64% – 73 sites) of all MSAs in England have at least one ultra-rapid 150kW+ charger, often in addition to other ‘slower’ rapid chargers.
What’s more, there are now six well-located motorway services that have more than 12 150kW+ devices. These are Reading M4 east and westbound, Cobham M25, Exeter M5, Gloucester M5 northbound and Frankley M5 southbound. As for the services that have the most 150kW+ chargers, Frankley on the M5 southbound has an impressive 28 with Reading on the M4 westbound having 25. While many locations also have additional Tesla chargers, Tesla is now allowing drivers of any make of EV to use their chargers at four of them.
Looking at high-powered charging over 50kW across England as a whole, each motorway services has an average of seven chargers (meaning there is a total of 818 at 114 sites). Just taking ultra-rapid chargers, there is an average of five at every services in England (595 at 114 sites).
Only four MSAs do not have any charging provision over 50kW at present. Two of these, Leicester Forest East M1 north and southbound, are run by Welcome Break which told the RAC and Zapmap there are difficulties bringing sufficient power to the sites. The company is working to resolve this with National Grid Electricity Distribution, National Highways and the local authorities and hopes to install ultra-rapid chargers next year.
The other two other locations with no rapid charge points – Sedgemoor M5 northbound and Telford M54 – are still awaiting high-powered connections to the electricity grid. Gridserve, the charge point operator that runs the nationwide Electric Highway network at motorway services, confirmed it is hoping to start installing chargers at Sedgemoor in 2025.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Although the previous government’s target of having six high-powered chargers over 50kW at every motorway services in England was undoubtedly missed, it’s very clear that great progress is being made regardless and, in some locations, the number of chargers provided is now extremely impressive.
“It is particularly encouraging to see so many ultra-rapid chargers being installed, with these representing nearly three-quarters (73%) of all the high-powered devices at motorway services so far this year, up from 54% a year ago. As we’ve long said, this is just what’s needed to give current and prospective EV drivers the reassurance to know they can get back on the road quickly when making long journeys beyond the range of their cars.
“We know there is a willingness from both service station companies and charge point operators to get as many of the fastest devices put in, but often the prime stumbling block is getting the required high-powered connections to the country’s national electricity grid. More needs to be done to make this process faster and simpler than it is currently. This is the exact point of the Government’s £950m Rapid Charging Fund, so it would be good to see this delivering more high-speed connections soon.”
Zapmap co-founder and chief operating officer Melanie Shufflebotham said: “There has been a huge investment in charging at motorway services areas over the past couple of years by charge point operators and motorway service providers.
“The increase in number of high-powered charging at motorway service areas since the beginning of the year has been impressive. It’s good to see Tesla opening up some of its locations to all vehicles, and I am sure there is more to come.
“We know from our surveys and data that motorway service areas are very popular, convenient charging locations, and as more people make the switch to electric, it is important that there is sufficient visible provision at each and every motorway service area.
“That said, the huge growth of charging hubs, typically very close to key routes, means that EV drivers do not need to solely rely on the motorway service areas, and have a broad range of options from which to choose.”
Strategically located charging hubs
High-powered hubs for charging en-route are also being deployed close to popular routes in many locations, to supplement chargers available at motorway service areas. In addition to the 61 hubs in motorway service areas, there are 302 such hubs with six or more 50kW+ devices across England.
For example, Gridserve is building Electric Forecourts® to support well-travelled routes including 26 high-powered chargers at London Gatwick just off the M23, and a further 30 charger bays at J7 just off the A1(M) soon to open in Stevenage.
In the west, Osprey has installed 16 ultra-rapid chargers just off the busy A38 Devon Expressway at Salmons Leap, Buckfastleigh, in Devon. The hub is easily accessible from both the Plymouth-bound and Exeter-bound carriageways, making it an excellent en-route charging choice for EV drivers.
More centrally, InstaVolt has installed a charging hub consisting of 32 high-powered chargers in Stroud Park, close to the M40 motorway. Situated at a leisure park just off J11 of the M40 at Banbury, it is clearly visible from nearby major roads and has plenty of car parking. While not an official service station it functions very much like one, and has a coffee shop, restaurant, and hotel on site.
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* Based on Zapmap data correct as of 31st August 2024. Excludes Tesla chargers not open to the public
** RAC estimate based on number of cars registered as new by the SMMT
*** The Government’s ‘Taking charge: the electric vehicle infrastructure strategy’ published on 25 March 2022 set out an intention to accelerate the roll-out of high-powered chargers on the strategic road network through the £950m Rapid Charging Fund so that EV drivers have confidence in the ability to undertake longer journeys. Page seven of the document explicitly states: “We will ensure that every motorway service area has at least six rapid chargers by the end of 2023, with some having more than 12.”
