New figures, published by the Department for Transport (DfT) and supplied by Zap-Map, show there were 24,374 charge points at the beginning of July. The number of public available charge points increased by 1,584 from April to June, a rise of 7% on the previous quarter.
Since 2015, the number of public devices has grown by 44% per year, on average. Rapid devices have increased at a much higher rate, with an average annual increase of 62%.
In Q1 to Q2, an increase of almost 7% (292) on the previous quarter was seen, with 4,551 rapid chargers now available.
The DfT suggests the coronavirus pandemic may have slowed device growth, with the annual growth in total and rapid devices since April 2020 being noticeably lower than average, at 36% and 46% respectively
Despite regional distribution of charging devices and all regions in the UK seeing an increase in total and rapid charging devices between April and July 2021, the DfT data shows an uneven geographical distribution of charging devices. Only some UK local authorities have bid for UK Government funding for charging devices.
London and Scotland had the highest level of charging provision per 100,000 of population, with 83 and 47 devices per 100,000 respectively. However, the average provision in the UK was 36 per 100,000.
Northern Ireland had the lowest level of charging device provision with 17 devices per 100,000, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber and the northwest with 21 and 22 devices per 100,000.
Scotland had the highest rate of rapid device provision of 12 rapid devices per 100,000, while the average provision in the UK was 6.8 per 100,000. Rapid device provision was lowest for Northern Ireland and Wales, with 1.1 and 4.4 rapid devices per 100,000 respectively.
The reasons behind fluctuations are varied, says the DfT. For example, increases may reflect installation of new devices, while decreases may be when owners and operators choose to temporarily or permanently decommission or replace devices. They may also be unavailable due to faults, maintenance, or other restrictions in the area.
Boosted by an increase in device numbers in Coventry, where the total number has increased by 160, the West Midlands has seen the greatest total increase in devices, increasing 20.6% from last quarter, corresponding to an additional 272 devices.
In contrast, the smallest quarterly growth in devices has been in Northern Ireland, with numbers increasing by only 0.9%. This is followed by Yorkshire and the Humber, which has seen a total growth of 2.6%.
The number of available rapid devices has increased most noticeably in Wales, which has grown by 23.7%. However, Wales still has the lowest level of rapid device provision in Great Britain, with 4.4 devices per 100,000 population.
The southeast has seen the lowest quarterly growth in rapid devices at 1.1%, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber at 2.7%.
Northern Ireland had the smallest increase in the number of rapid devices in the UK, with only one additional rapid device over the past quarter.
