More than 16,000 public chargers have been added in 2023

The total count of public chargers across the UK now reaches 53,677, marking an uplift of 45%, or 16,622, compared to the previous year.

However, this equates to merely 80.1 devices per 100,000 inhabitants, with only 15.1 of these being 50kW or higher per 100,000 people, as reported by the Department for Transport.

The figures for Northern Ireland are notably lower at 24.4 and 4.1 respectively, a concern emphasised by the NFDA following a recent visit to NI.

The deployment of charging infrastructure is not keeping pace with the burgeoning sales of EVs, posing a significant concern for dealerships.

James Court, chief executive of EVA England, whose membersa re EV drivers, said: “EVA England is pleased to see that the number of charge points for electric vehicles is steadily increasing.

“Recent stats show that EVs represented over 16% of sales last year, meaning a growing number of EVs on UK roads and, crucially, more EV drivers making use of our public charging network.

“Our most recent EVA England survey revealed 12% of EV drivers are already solely reliant on the public network to meet all of their charging needs. We urgently need to see charging infrastructure keep pace with increasing demand, and today’s figures give EVA England confidence in the future.”

Ian Plummer, commercial director at Auto Trader, said: “More public charge points are welcome but efforts to encourage electric vehicles are still hampered by an unfair VAT regime.

“Electric drivers relying on rapid public charging can expect to pay on average £28 more per 1,000 miles compared to petrol counterparts, but those able to charge at home will pay just 5% VAT on energy and enjoy savings of £142 per 1,000 miles on average.

It’s time the government listened to calls from drivers and industry and scrapped the 20% VAT rate on public charging to ensure no driver is left behind in the electric switch.”