Drivers across the UK are facing a growing North–South divide as the rollout of public electric vehicle (EV) charging points slows sharply.
Just 628 public chargers were installed in December, bringing the total added last year to 14,097, according to industry body Zapmap. That figure is almost 30% lower than the 19,834 chargers installed in 2024, and more than 2,500 fewer than in 2023.
The data also highlights a stark regional imbalance. Nearly one in three public chargers is located in London, with almost half found across London and the South East. Of the UK’s 87,796 public charging points, 27,895 are in London, while the South East accounts for a further 11,136.
By comparison, the North East has just 2,550 chargers in total. Westminster alone has more public charging points than Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle combined.
Experts warn that the shortage of chargers, particularly in northern cities, risks increasing “range anxiety” and undermining confidence in switching to electric cars.
Ginny Buckley, chief executive of EV advice site Electrifying.com, said unreliable charging infrastructure in the North is already putting drivers off. She described the situation as a clear North–South divide, adding that when a single London borough has more chargers than several major northern cities combined, it sends a strong message that the system is failing drivers outside the South.
Buckley also pointed out that Coventry has more public chargers than Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield combined, despite having only around one eighth of their total population.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said concerns over charging remain one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption. He stressed that drivers need confidence not just in the number of chargers, but in their reliability, availability and ease of use.
The slowdown comes as a setback for Labour’s Net Zero ambitions, including the target of installing 300,000 public chargers by 2030. The Government is also facing criticism over plans announced in the Budget to introduce a pay-per-mile EV duty of 3p per mile, with hybrids charged 1.5p per mile.
Vicky Read, chief executive of EV lobby group Charge UK, warned: “This is not the time for complacency.”
