For drivers thinking about making the switch to an electric car, one question still comes up more than most.
Where am I going to charge it?
It is an understandable concern. Nobody wants to set off on a long journey wondering whether they will find somewhere to plug in when they need it, but the UK’s public charging network has changed considerably in recent years and the latest figures show just how quickly it is developing.
According to the latest Department for Transport data, there were 121,171 publicly available EV charging connections across the UK as of 1 July 2026. Of those, 28,887 were rapid or ultra rapid chargers capable of delivering 50kW or more.
The way those figures are measured has changed slightly this year. Rather than simply counting physical charging units, the Government now records how many vehicles can charge at the same time. That matters because some charging units can serve more than one vehicle. In total, the UK had 97,266 physical public charging devices providing those 121,171 charging connections.
What that means for drivers is simple. There are now considerably more opportunities to charge an electric car while away from home, and the network is becoming more varied too.
Almost half of public chargers provide between 3kW and 8kW, the sort of charging you are more likely to find on residential streets, in car parks or at locations where a car might remain parked for several hours. Another 27 per cent provide between 8kW and 50kW.
For longer journeys, however, the growth in faster charging is arguably more important. Around 12 per cent of public chargers now provide between 50kW and 150kW, with a further 12 per cent capable of delivering 150kW or more.
That means almost 29,000 public charging connections across the UK are now rapid or ultra rapid.
Combined with the increasingly high charging speeds supported by newer electric cars, this can make stopping for electricity on a long journey feel much less disruptive than it once did.
A suitable modern EV connected to the right charger can add a significant amount of range during the sort of break many drivers would probably take on a motorway journey anyway.
We are also seeing more larger charging hubs appearing around the country. Earlier this year, Auto Express reported that the UK had passed 1,000 rapid charging hubs, according to Zapmap data.
Rather than arriving at a location with just one or two chargers and hoping one is free, these larger sites provide multiple high powered charging bays. For drivers travelling longer distances, that can make the experience much more reassuring.
But simply having more chargers is only part of the story.
For public charging to become a genuine alternative to filling up with petrol or diesel, drivers also need chargers to be reliable, easy to use and straightforward to pay for.
Government regulations are designed to improve that experience. Rapid charging networks are required to achieve average reliability of 99 per cent across their network over the calendar year, while certain public chargers must provide contactless payment.
Operators must also display their price clearly in pence per kilowatt hour and provide a free, staffed 24 hour helpline for drivers who experience problems.
For anyone who remembers the earlier days of public EV charging, when using a charger could involve downloading a new app, creating an account and entering payment details before getting started, those changes are significant.
There is still one area where public charging has some catching up to do though.
Cost.
Charging an electric car at home can be extremely cost effective, particularly for drivers who can use a cheaper overnight electricity tariff. Relying on the public network can be considerably more expensive.
Zapmap’s Charging Price Index showed that the average pay as you go price in July 2026 was 54p per kWh for standard and standard plus public charging and 80p per kWh for rapid and ultra rapid charging.
The amount a driver actually pays can vary significantly depending on the operator, location, charging speed and whether they use a membership or subscription.
That creates a noticeable difference between drivers who can regularly plug in at home and those living in flats, rented properties or homes without driveways who may need to rely much more heavily on public charging.
The Government has recognised that issue and launched a review into the cost of public EV charging in June 2026, looking at why public charging costs what it does and what government and industry could potentially do to reduce those costs. Its findings are expected in autumn 2026.
Where you live can also still make a difference.
The latest Department for Transport figures show significant regional variations in the number of public chargers available, with London having considerably more public charging infrastructure per person than other parts of the country.
However, the difference becomes much smaller when looking specifically at rapid and ultra rapid charging.
The network is also increasingly being built around the different ways people need to charge.
More than half of public chargers are classed as destination chargers, covering places where a driver is likely to leave their car parked for a while. Around a third are on street chargers, which are particularly important for people unable to charge at home, while roughly one in ten are en route chargers intended to support longer journeys.
And considerably more charging infrastructure is still planned.
The Government said in August that more than £600 million is being invested to support further charge point rollout, building on funding already being used to help deliver more than 100,000 additional public chargers across the UK.
At the same time, the technology inside both chargers and electric cars continues to improve.
Manufacturers are launching EVs capable of accepting increasingly high charging speeds, while the industry is already developing systems that could eventually bring charging times much closer to the time it takes to stop for fuel.
