UK EV charger boom held back by slow Government funding, says industry

The UK’s EV charging network grew by almost one fifth last year despite lacklustre consumer demand for electric cars and, according to the charging industry, sluggish Government investment in local chargepoint infrastructure.

According to the UK EV charger mapping site ZapMap, 14,097 new charging stations were installed and activated across the country in 2025. This now means that there are roughly 116,000 sockets attached to over 87,000 individual public devices spanning 45,000 sites in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Such an increase represents just over a 19 per cent increase in the number of devices available year-on-year. It comes at a time where the quantity of new electric cars on the road is increasing at a similar rate, with the number of EV registrations having risen by roughly 24 per cent year-on-year – although this is well behind the goal of 28 per cent set by the Government’s ZEV Mandate.

The chief executive of charging industry trade body Charge UK, Vicky Read, said: “A year in which EV sales accounted for a quarter of all vehicle registrations whilst the charging infrastructure grew by a fifth can only be described as hugely positive.”

Read is keen to point out that the greatest focus of the current phase of charger rollout is to install “the right kind of charging in the right places”. For example, collaborations between chargepoint operators and supermarkets mean drivers can plug in as they shop, while ultra-rapid chargers (those with an output of over 150kW) saw the greatest uplift in deployment, with the number of devices across the country having skyrocketed by over 40 per cent in the last year to just shy of 10,000.

“The rollout of ultra-rapid charging is especially pleasing to see,” Read said. “The widespread coverage across key UK roads means that EV drivers can take long journeys with increasing confidence.”

Of course, not all EV drivers are doing longer journeys and thus demanding the power and speed of ultra-rapid units; on-street charging is crucial for EV drivers living in urban areas without a driveway, but the industry says Government delays in distributing Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding has led to slower deployment than hoped.

ZapMap’s figures show that 7,659 more on-street chargers were installed in 2025, bringing the total number in the UK to over 33,000. However, the majority of these are located in London and even so, the total number of units remains far away from the Government’s target of 100,000.

Co-founder and COO of ZapMap, Melanie Shufflebotham, explained: “As we move into 2026, we look forward to LEVI fund awards translating from contracts into near-home charging provision, to increase equitable access for those without access to off-street parking. 

“As the government’s dedicated innovation fund to address concerns around timely access to grid connections takes effect,” Shufflebotham continued, “we can expect to see benefits to the charging infrastructure both in congested, high-demand areas and rural areas with limited grid infrastructure.”

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