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The UK’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network is expanding rapidly, with both infrastructure deployment and charging speeds progressing well to meet—or even surpass—government targets. Despite these achievements, some drivers still encounter a ‘charging lottery,’ depending on location, and occasionally face inconsistent reliability at public charge points.
T&E’s analysis shows strong charge point roll-out in London and several urban areas like Brighton, Coventry, and Cambridge, where high demand is matched by targeted investment. Some rural regions, including parts of Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall, are also making good progress with charger numbers suited to local needs. However, some areas of the UK are lagging behind. For example, while Brighton and Hove have 185 charge points per 100,000 people, there are just 25 in Walsall. Underperforming local authorities are found across both urban and rural parts of the UK.
In addition, while the number of rapid and ultra-rapid charge points has grown by 33% in the past year—now exceeding 15,000 chargers and providing drivers with a charger within 10km of their location for 90% of motorways—coverage remains patchy in rural areas such as the South West, Norfolk, North East England, Wales, and Scotland, with only 65% of A roads served at this level of coverage. Low utilisation rates and the cancellation of the Rapid Charging Fund have made it commercially difficult for operators to expand in these regions, highlighting the need for alternative support to achieve full UK coverage of the Major Road Network.
Since the introduction of the Public Charge Point Regulation 2023—which requires 99% reliability for rapid and ultra-rapid chargers and payment systems—negative comments about failed charging attempts per BEV have fallen to their lowest level since early 2020. However, the total number of complaints about failed charging has remained steady since 2020, indicating that persistent problems continue at a minority of sites.
The most critical issue for customers is the slow repair of broken chargers, with only 20% fixed within 24 hours and 40% within a week across a sample of 500 charge points. Repair times vary regionally, with the South of England repairing 50% of faults within a month, compared to 40% in the North and 30% in the Midlands. Other leading concerns include slow charging speeds and complicated payment systems. Since consumer satisfaction and trust in Charge Point Operators heavily depend on reliability, accelerating repair times and improving charger uptime are essential to boost confidence and support widespread electric vehicle adoption in the UK.
Tim Dexter, UK T&E Vehicles Policy Manager said “The UK’s EV charging network has nearly doubled in the last two years alone. But, we know that for some drivers, it is still a postcode lottery. To make EV ownership an easy option for everyone, we need reliable and affordable charging to be available across the country. It is essential that the Government prioritises the remainder of the £400 million pledged in the Spending Review on upgrading areas that need it most.
Richard Riley, UK T&E’s Principal Analyst said “The charging industry has done great work rolling out charge points to accelerate coverage across the UK and to match or even exceed government projections of demand. But this is not being translated into high consumer satisfaction. To fix this, the government must improve consumer experiences by ensuring that broken chargers are repaired faster, payments are made easier, and coverage is improved in under-served areas.”
Further key recommendations to improve the consumer experience include incorporating renewable electricity for EVs into the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation to support ultra-rapid charging in less profitable regions and reforming fuel duty by reversing the freeze and increasing rates by 5–10p to keep green electricity the most affordable option.
