Over the past year, a new public electric car charger has been installed on Britain’s roads every 33 minutes on average. The Department for Transport (DfT) reports that 15,979 public chargepoints were added between October 2024 and October 2025, marking a 23% increase in charging infrastructure.
There are now 86,021 chargers nationwide. Residential “on-street” chargers, aimed at drivers without driveways, make up almost two-fifths of the total. Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers – usually found at motorway services and major public spaces – now total 17,356, capable of charging a car to 80% in 20–40 minutes.
Despite this growth, the network’s expansion is slower than in 2024, when 19,834 chargers were installed. To meet the Government’s target of 300,000 public chargers by 2030, another 213,979 devices are needed over the next five years. This requires an average of 130 new chargers per day – more than double the current pace of roughly 50 per day.
Progress has been strongest in local residential areas, with 38% of new devices being kerbside chargers, including units integrated into street lamps. These installations aim to support EV adoption among drivers without off-street parking. Currently, nine in ten EV owners can charge at home, and public charging remains significantly more expensive – sometimes up to 10 times the cost.
Steve Catlin, Vauxhall’s Managing Director, highlighted the importance of residential charging: “On-street chargers now make up 38% of all public devices, a huge boost for drivers without a driveway, and a major step toward making the UK’s EV journey accessible for all.”
The Government is also considering cutting red tape to make cross-pavement charging easier for homeowners without driveways, potentially allowing cheaper home-style charging at as little as 2p per mile.
Labour’s £381 million plan to install 100,000 more public chargers across England has also been welcomed. Decarbonisation Minister Keir Mather said: “Chargepoints are up 23% this year, and we’re helping drivers save with discounts on new electric cars. We’re also making it easier for renters and those without driveways to access affordable home charging.”
Regional growth has been fastest in Yorkshire and the Humber, Wales, the West Midlands, and the East of England. Outside London, public EV chargers increased by 23.4% over the year, compared to 21.7% in the capital. There are now over 6,000 open-access rapid and ultra-rapid chargers within one mile of England’s strategic road network.
