The UK is on course to meet its target of 300,000 public electric vehicle (EV) charging points, but this target masks the fact that drivers outside of London and the South East of England are not not sufficiently served.

Fewer than one in six electric vehicle charging points are in rural areas, with high concentrations in well-connected London and surrounding areas. the National Audit Office (NAO) said.

He also warned that the needs of disabled drivers are being neglected.

The public spending watchdog said barriers to installing public charging stations, such as time spent obtaining planning permission, as well as better network connections, threatened the rollout.

Improving public charging infrastructure is seen as key to encouraging more drivers to switch to electric vehicles. While the majority of electric vehicle users charge their cars at home, around a third of UK households do not have off-road parking where they could use their own wall box chargers.

The study found that more than 64,600 public charging stations had been installed as of July.
The deployment is “on track” to reach 300,000 the Department of Transportation estimates this is the minimum needed by 2030, the report says.

The report reveals that the rollout, largely privately funded, meant the installation was driven by early adopters, meaning around 44% of the charging points were in London and the South. East.

He found sections of A roads which do not have enough charging points and said the previous government’s target of having six super-fast charging points on every motorway layby in England by 2023 had not been reached. As of July of this year, 62 percent of service areas had them.

Consumers, the report said, have “many concerns regarding the use of public charging stations,” including the complexity of using charging stations, with operators having different ways of paying; prices are unclear or excessively expensive; as well as defective or inoperative charging stations.

The NAO said disabled drivers were at a disadvantage, with many charging points inaccessible because they were installed on pavements or surrounded by obstacles or had specifications or instructions that were too high or too low.

Gareth Davies, director of the NAO, said: “The government’s estimate that the 300,000 public electric vehicle charging points needed by 2030 looks achievable, although there are challenges. much remains to be done to ensure adequate coverage in all parts of the country.

“The government is using regulation to improve the user experience of public charging points and must address disabled access. »

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of parliament’s public accounts committee, said problems with building permits and electricity grid connections “were obstacles to further progress”.

“If the government is serious about encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles, it must ensure that the public can access reliable, convenient and accessible charging points,” he said.

AA president Edmund King said: “It is vital that communities are not left behind. To give confidence to the drivers of today and tomorrow, it is crucial that all road users, including those with reduced mobility, can easily use public charging stations.

Simon Williams, from the RAC, said: “Getting the necessary connections to the national grid is vital to ensure no part of the country is left behind. »

Dr Maya Singer-Hobbs, of the Institute for Public Policy Research, said a large public charging network is “critical to helping people transition to electric vehicles”.

She said the NAO report should give many the confidence to make their next electric vehicle.

“However, behind this figure it reveals the risk that some people and areas are being left behind in accessing a suitable public charging point,” she said.

Although the Department of Transportation has created standards for charging station accessibility, it has not made them mandatory, meaning that much of the current public charging network is not accessible to drivers with disabilities or to drivers in rural areas.

“Many people who are hesitant to buy an electric vehicle do so because fears that they are not practical – a concern unfortunately fueled by disinformation campaigns. The government should dispel these myths through a national public communications plan and establish a concrete guarantee that affordable and accessible public charging stations will soon be readily available in many more areas,” she added.

Vicky Read, Managing Director of ChargeUKa lobby group for charge point installers, said: “This is further proof that ChargeUK members are delivering for the UK.

“A new charging station is added to the network every 25 minutes on average. We are delivering at the scale and pace needed to support the transition to electric vehicles.

“Now the challenge is to stay on track, and to do so the Government must heed the recommendations of this report and tackle the remaining obstacles that prevent us from going even further and faster.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We are making good progress with the pricing rollout.

points across the UK, with more than 72,000 public chargers now available, an increase of almost 40% compared to December 2023.

“We are also providing more than £2.3 billion to help the industry and drivers make the change, and our measures are working, with electric vehicles accounting for one in four cars sold in November.”