EV charge points up just 2% this quarter

Electric Vehicle (EV) charge points are up by just 2% this quarter, according to the Department for Transport’s quarterly EV charging device statistics.

Since 2015, the number of EV public charging devices has grown by nearly five times. 

In the first quarter of 2020, EV charge points saw a 9% increase, however, in the last quarter, growth has slowed down, with just a 2% increase and just 318 more devices made available.

The statistics have also highlighted the vast regional disparities in the number of charging devices across the country, with some local authorities having bid for government funding while others have been left behind.

London has 57 charging devices per 100,000 people, this is the highest in the country. 

In comparison, Northern Ireland has just 16 chargers per 100,000. 

Pilgrim Beart, cofounder and CEO or DevicePilot commented on these statistics: ‘As expected, COVID-19 has had a real impact on the growth of EV charging points across the UK.

‘Whilst Q1 saw a 9% increase in the number of charging points available, Q2 only added to that by 2%. The effects of this won’t have been felt too much yet, as lockdown really put the brakes on demand for charging points.

‘However, as we start to move towards a ‘new normal’ this sudden dip in charging point availability could leave a lot of EV owners unable to charge their car.

‘Now more than ever, it is imperative that charging point vendors have their house in order. With demand for EVs effectively outstripping charging point availability in Q2, having even one faulty charging point in a bank could have a real impact on the charging experience, which was already a common gripe of EV owners.

‘Vendors have to be pro-active in monitoring their device estate so that they can spot faults and gather data on uptime and availability to better gauge the demand in each location, otherwise, we will see a lot of unhappy customers, which could really set the EV industry back.’