UK EV charger rollout slows as investors wait for clearer demand signals

The UK’s public EV charging network is still growing, but the pace has cooled.

New figures from Zapmap show 5,119 public EV chargers were installed in the first half of 2026, taking the UK total to 121,171 chargers across 46,731 locations. That represents 10% year-on-year growth, but is a marked slowdown compared with the much higher growth rates recorded earlier in the rollout.

While the headline figures are certainly concerning, especially for a Government that has previously said it expects around 300,000 public charge points to be available by 2030, it’s not as doom and gloom as it seems. 

Zapmap’s data shows that ultra-rapid chargers, rated at 150kW and above, grew by 37% year-on-year, reaching 13,996 units by the end of June. The number of charging hubs, defined by Zapmap as locations with eight or more rapid or ultra-rapid chargers, also reached 1,034.

That means rather than the growth coming to a halt – it’s just becoming more specific. More charging hubs, more rapid chargers, slower growth in traditional ‘fast’ chargers. That makes sense – 68% of UK households have a driveway or access to private off-street parking, and those people could easily charge at slower speeds with chargers installed at home. They need to plug that gap for long journeys – where charging hubs and ultra-rapid chargers come in handy. 

It’s also where the real money in the industry lies. High-power hubs on major roads, retail sites and other high-turnover locations have a clearer utilisation case. Drivers arrive, charge quickly and move on. For charge point operators, that can make the business model easier to defend, even when installation costs, connection costs and competition are rising.

That doesn’t mean there’s no cause for concern – after all, there are still many drivers without access to off-street parking or a driveway, and those people will rely on a robust local network. To that end, on-street charging saw 18% year-on-year growth, reaching 39,859 chargers, according to Zapmap. 

Recently, ADEPT called for national action to focus on boosting access to these sorts of chargers, arguing that the industry needs long-term funding to ensure consistent growth. But funding isn’t the only problem facing the EV charging industry. 

Political uncertainty over the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate adds another layer. The current trajectory sets a 33% zero-emission car target in 2026, rising to 80% in 2030, with flexibilities built into the system. Reports that the Government could revisit the 2030 target have prompted concern from parts of the charging sector, because the investment case for public charging depends heavily on confidence in future EV uptake.

That all comes at a time when EVs and plug-in hybrids recently overtook sales of petrol cars for the very first time. That shows there’s still demand for EVs, but the industry is concerned that that repeated debate over the ZEV mandate was causing investors to hesitate.

That hesitation is already playing into a broader market shift. As we recently covered, the UK EV charging sector is entering a consolidation phase, with operators facing rising costs, grid delays, tougher uptime rules and pressure to prove demand and reliability. 

That shift is also expected to continue, with InstaVolt acquiring GeniePoint’s network in the UK just days ago. As that shift continues and money dries up, while the industry consolidates around a few larger players, we could see the number of chargers being installed slow significantly – as the figures appear to show. That doesn’t automatically equate to a bad thing, however. 

While the Government has set its sights on 300,000 public EV chargers, the next phase of the rollout should probably focus less on counting sockets and more about ensuring that the right chargers are being installed in the right places, with the grid capacity, uptime regime and commercial model to keep them useful.

After all, there’s no point in having 300,000 chargers, if only 10,000 are actually profitable and have high levels of utilisation.