Quality over quantity as UK charger growth slows 23%

Meanwhile, the number of ultra-rapid chargers is up 52% YoY

Hello, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.

Top story in today’s edition... The number of public chargers going into the ground year-on-year is slowing, but it’s not all bad, as I dive into the latest data from the Department for Transport.

In other news... It’s another big month for EV registrations, DfT promises to remove the need for planning permission on pavement channels, and EVA England’s latest report reveals 47% of drivers have experienced accessibility issues.

As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

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If I can take a moment of your time 🙏

Before we get into it today, I wanted to mark the loss of one of my friends and former colleagues, Martin Townsend, who died in October.

Martin and I were both diagnosed with cancer about the same time in 2024 and, at his insistence, we formed an ‘Axis of Illness’. Throughout our own journeys, we spoke regularly about the challenges, the fear, and, more often than not, the humour that dealing with cancer brings.

We’d often compare notes, mostly gossiping about the different patients you’d come across on wards, or which hospital had the best grub. Martin used to say that in Chelsea hospital, he’d be treated to “Barbour pyjamas and a Purdey under the sheets”.

As a former newspaper editor, Martin was a terrific wordsmith. He once brought me to tears of laughter ahead of one of his upcoming treatments, saying “the time for turning buckets into Spitfires is over, and I need to be on that first sortie teaching Johnny Tumour to eat lead.”

Not only was Martin a total rock and his determination inspiring, but he was also instrumental in bringing my partner and I together last Autumn, through a series of dates he secretly organised – something I will always be grateful for.

Martin was a great wingman and ‘Axis Compatriot’. He is going to be missed terribly, and my thoughts are with his family. Go well, Martin, and thank you x

For anyone interested in learning more about this brilliant chap, The Times published a lovely obituary (here). Likewise, his children shared a lovely tribute (here).

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⚡️ New EV charging data reveals the UK’s need for speed

Summary: Last week, the Department for Transport published its latest quarterly update on EV charging progress across the UK. The new figures revealed that the total number of chargers across the country now stands at 86,021, representing a 23% increase compared to the same time last year, with nearly 16,000 additional chargers added.

However... While the DfT and the industry celebrate this huge growth, the truth is that the momentum of installations is slowing. Over the same period, a year earlier – aka, from 2023 to 2024 – the UK added 20,822 chargers. That means year-on-year, in terms of installation pace, we’re actually 23% down.

Likewise... If we’re looking at pure EV registrations, in the 12 months the latest charging statistics cover (e.g., 2024-25), there were 460,000 electric cars added to the UK market. Whereas, in the year previous, when we installed more chargers, only 346,000 EVs were registered. That growth in vehicles versus chargers means, compared to last year, when there were 18 BEVs to each charger, as of today, it’s 20.

You’re so negative, Tom! Yes, I appreciate that this is all a bit doom and gloom. But without a fast uptick in deployments, based on my analysis, if the current rate of BEV adoption keeps up, spurred on by the grant, by this time next year, it could be 23 BEVs per charger. I appreciate that it sounds like a small margin, though this can really make a difference in reality, especially as more owners may likely not be guaranteed to have home charging options.

Although there is one insight I’ve found that will hopefully reassure you that ‘chargeageddon’ won’t happen. And it’s this...