Demand for more EV charging stations across the UK after drivers left queuing for three hours to recharge

30th Dec 2022

Electric vehicle (EV) owners have expressed their outrage at the lack of charging points across the country after drivers waited for over three hours to get back on the road.

This festive season has seen travel chaos, with millions of people getting behind the wheel, industrial action, difficult weather conditions and long delays on the motorways.

In addition to this littany of factors, EV owners have voiced their growing frustrations at the number of rapid and ultra-rapid devices available.

According to data from Zap Map, there are currently only 6712 rapid and ultra-rapid charging devices available to EV owners across locations in the UK.

Worryingly, this caters for more than 420,000 electric vehicles in the UK.

This has led to calls for further investment and expansion across the road network to make more charging devices available to drivers.

With just over seven years until the 2030 deadline, infrastructure and continued commitment from the government will be key to more of the public making the switch to EVs.

Tesla owners seem to have been disproportionately affected, especially at sites in Hertfordshire, Cumbria, Westmorland, and Telford.

A Facebook group called 'Tesla Owners Club UK' shared their opinions online.

One said: “Someone taking the mick at Tebay? Been here over an hour. Still 15 in front of me in the queue for a charger. Easily another 2 hours to wait - minimum.”

A second added: “We need more superchargers. I love Tesla, but this country is not up to standards if they want total electricity!”

Another stated: “New Tesla owner and I’m super disappointed with the charging lark. Nobody told me that a winter charge would barely achieve half the performance. Tesla are charging too much to use their chargers. Finding podpoint at 40p average best value for money.”

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the UK's rollout of EV chargepoints had not been keeping up with the number of new EVs on the roads.

In fact, the Government has fallen well short of its initial target for new EV installations. To catch up with its target, the Government will need to ramp up monthly installations by over 350%.

Following the revelation, the Department for Transport plans to install more than 300,000 devices by the end of the decade.

Data from Zap-Map indicates that over the last 12 months, public chargepoints have increased by 29% so things are moving in the right direction, but with out of service chargers, and EV popularity growing, there's more to be done.

Are you an EV owner? Have you noticed that it has become increasingly more difficult to charge your EV when you are out on the roads? Leave your comments below.