Figures issued by the Department for Transport (DfT) based on data from charging app ZapMap show the number of charging devices in urban areas increased by 35%, or 14,021 devices, in the year to 1 January 2025. The number of charging devices in rural areas increased by 45%, or 2,974 devices.
In terms of charging speed, 14,448 had 50kW of power or above representing 20% of all charging devices, while 41,678 had a power rating of 3kW up to 8kW representing 57% of all charging devices.
35,995 were designated as ‘destination’ chargers, this represents 49% of all charging devices. 26,318 were designated as ‘on street’ chargers, representing 36% of all charging devices.
Compared to 1 October 2024 total installed devices increased by 3,292, an increase of 5%. There was an increase in the number of public charging devices in all countries and regions of the UK since 1 October.
London had by far the highest number of charging devices in the UK with 250 per 100,000 population, followed by Scotland with 112 and the West Midlamds with 108. Northern Ireland had the lowest with 36 per 100,000, followed by the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber which each had66 devices per 100,000. The average provision in the UK was 108 per 100,000.
Scotland had the highest rate of 50kW and above device provision at 29 charging devices rated 50kW and above per 100,000. The average provision in the UK was 21.4 per 100,000. 50kW and above charging device provision was lowest in Northern Ireland with 8.6 charging devices rated 50kW and above per 100,000.
Despite having a much higher number of total charging devices per 100,000 population than the rest of the UK, London was the region with the second lowest number of 50kW and above rated devices with 15.1 charging devices rated 50kW and above per 100,000. The DfT says this is because most of London’s charging provision is devices rated 3kW up to 8kW located on residential streets.
In England, 84.6% of public charging devices were in an urban setting. The urban classification with the largest proportion of charging devices was urban major conurbation (47.8% of all devices). The rural classification with the largest proportion of charging devices was rural village and dispersed (7.7% of all devices).
Between January 2024 and January 2025, the number of charging devices located in urban areas increased by 35%, or 14,021 devices. The number of charging devices located in rural areas increased by 45%, or 2,974 devices.
