‘We’re not stopping here’ – UK hits 75,000 EV chargepoint milestone

With £200 million in government investment, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced the deployment of public chargers at a current rate of one every 29 minutes.

The total number of public chargers now complements over 680,000 domestic chargepoints at private driveways, ensuring that EV drivers are mor likely to be within reach of a charging point in more places across the UK.

Alexander commented: “Today is an important day in our EV transition. With prices coming down, new models constantly introduced on the market, and a public charging network expanding at lightning speed, there’s never been a better time to make the switch to an EV.

“We’re not stopping here – with both government and private investment, the number of chargers will continue to grow.

“This means everyone can get around with the confidence they’re always a very short drive from a charger, as we continue to support jobs, drive investment and power growth as part of our Plan for Change.”

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During the announcement, the Transport secretary announced that an additional 100,000 on-street and local chargers will be introduced in the coming years across smaller towns and rural areas.

The Government believes that this will make it easier for those without driveways to charge overnight.

The growth has been attributed to the £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI).

This expansion follows growth in rural chargepoints, which saw a 45% increase in 2024.

The Department for Transport (DfT) also announced that a further 1,400 chargepoints have been added to offices and workplaces across the UK.

RAC's EV spokesperson Simon Williams said: "While it’s encouraging to see so much investment put towards EV infrastructure, the cost of public charging is equally important to stimulate widespread adoption. 

"Anyone who can’t charge their vehicle at home currently pays significantly more than those drivers that can, partly because VAT is charged at four times the 5% domestic rate at public chargers. Easy nationwide access to public charge points and cheaper charging costs are two sides of the same coin when it comes to ramping up private EV demand."

Recent Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) data showed that the adoption of electrified vehicles continued to rise, with plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) increasing by 19.3% and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) growing by 7.9% in February.

Battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations surged by 41.7%, reaching 21,244 units, which accounted for 25.3% of the market share, up from 17.7% a year earlier.