Minister hails record growth in UK's public electric vehicle charger network
Future of roads minister Lilian Greenwood claimed the figures show people can always access a charger 'no matter where they live'.
Some 79,326 public charging devices were available on May 1, Department for Transport (DfT) statistics seen by the PA news agency show.
That is an increase of 2,819 compared from the total of 76,507 on April 1.
Since May 1 last year, the amount has soared by 30%.
The rollout of public EV charging is seen as vital to persuade more drivers – particularly those without off-road parking – to switch to electric motoring.
Ms Greenwood said: 'We're ensuring drivers are always close to an electric vehicle chargepoint, no matter where they live.
'Our new stats this week show strong growth in our public chargepoint network, with almost 80,000 public chargepoints now installed and a record of nearly 3,000 made available this April alone.'
She said the UK is 'seeing a chargepoint boost across all regions'.
Compared with April 1 2024, the number available on the same date this year increased by 30% in the North, 44% in the West Midlands, 29% in the South East, 28% in Wales, 32% in Scotland and 23% in Northern Ireland.
Changes in the total number of available devices are caused by chargers being installed, decommissioned or switching from private use only.
The DfT figures are based on data from charger map service Zapmap.
A report published by public spending watchdog the National Audit Office in December last year found the rollout of public EV chargers was 'on track' to meet the 300,000 the DfT estimates will be the minimum needed by 2030.
The Government has pledged to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030.
Industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Thursday that pure electric versions are available for a record two out of five new car models on sale in the UK.
Car buyers can choose from more than 130 battery electric new car models, up from 102 a year ago.
There are also more than 100 plug-in hybrid models on sale.
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The Independent
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- The Independent
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These come with a price tag of several billion pounds, including the five Burns stations between Cardiff and Magor, improvements to the North Wales Main Line and connectivity with the north west of England, and the required investment - such as a Coryton loop and a Cardiff west junction - to allow for four trains per hour on the most densely populated part of the South Wales Metro: the Coryton and City Lines running through Cardiff. Once the DfT commits to major projects, like the £16bn rail and bus investment in the Midlands and North of England announced earlier this week, as they take more than three years to complete they will have to be funded for the long-term. Article continues below I would expect the UK Government to announce on Wednesday that it will, as a starting point, deliver the five Burns stations: Cardiff East (off Newport Road), Newport West, Maindy, Llanwern, and Magor on the South Wales Main Line. In a phased investment programme, they will take around five years to complete. The stations were recommended by the Burns Commission, chaired by Lord Burns and commissioned by the Welsh Government to explore ways to boost public transport investment in south-east Wales. This followed former First Minister Mark Drakeford's 2017 decision not to proceed with a Labour Senedd manifesto pledge to deliver a £1bn M4 relief road south of Newport. The stations, with a combined construction cost of £320m, first require £15m for detailed design work and £50m to upgrade the relief lines from Bristol Temple Meads to South Wales to allow for passenger services. The business case for the Burns stations is strong. They would serve a population of around 1.2 million, 20% of whom don't have access to a car. Transport for Wales could bid to run a new service from Bristol Temple Meads, calling at the new stations and potentially running as far west as Carmarthen. 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Meanwhile, the backers of Cardiff Parkway and its integrated business park project at St Mellons are revising costings for what was a projected £120m four-platform station pre-Covid. It would be a welcome addition alongside the Burns stations. Despite accounting for around 10% of the rail network (England and Wales) and making up over 5% of the population, Wales has received less than 2% of rail enhancement investment over the last few decades. Over a 15-year period, Wales should be seeking a rail enhancement commitment from the UK Government of £200m to £300m per annum - equating to £3bn-£4bn in total investment. By contrast, up to 2040 the DfT has committed around £80bn for rail enhancement projects in England, including HS2 from London to Birmingham, a high-speed station at Euston, and the upgrade of the TransPennine Route. Through the Barnett Formula, the Welsh Government used to receive a transfer from changes to the DfT budget based on a comparability factor of around 80% - set against a UK population share of 5%. The transfer was based on any change to the DfT's overall budget. So it's not accurate to say, as many have this week when the UK Government announced the £6.6bn Oxford to Cambridge line, that Wales would have received a £360m consequential if the project was fully barnetised. If the overall DfT budget rose by £6.6bn, then yes - but savings will be made elsewhere. In the round, however, Wales has been hugely short-changed. The high previous comparability factor was due to non-devolved items being a small part of the DfT's budget, and because Network Rail spending was not included. However, with HS2 and Network Rail spending now included - and comprising a much larger share of the DfT's budget - the comparability factor for Wales has fallen to just 33.5%. The figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland remain at 95.6%. Of the DfT's current £37bn annual budget, around £20bn relates to high-speed rail and Network Rail. The 'England and Wales' classification for rail projects has significantly eroded Wales' share. I'm not expecting a significant uplift to the DfT budget. The Treasury's view is effectively: if you want to do more in Wales (via DfT), you have to do so from within existing - or only slightly increased - resources. However, the Treasury should also recognise that part of the rail network in Wales - the Core Valley Lines (CVL) - is devolved. When the £1bn South Wales Metro electrification project is completed and the new turn-up-and-go timetable is bedded in, passenger numbers could climb to around 12 million per year. With further investment in services on the Coryton and City Lines, the aim should be to increase that figure towards 20 million. 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If England and Wales classified rail projects provided for fair investment in Wales then many could live with that arrangement - though I would still argue for full devolution. The Welsh Secretary has made a strong case for Welsh investment and has the backing of Ms Alexander. Having raised expectations, they cannot afford to fall short.
