There are 116,052 publicly available electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the UK, up 13% year-on-year by the end of 2025, according to Zapmap and the Green Finance Institute (GFI)’s utilisation report.
The report assessed how the public network responded to the more than 470,000 increase in EV drivers across 2025, and whether demand from EV drivers outpaced the supply of public EV chargers.
Ultra-rapid EV chargers of 150kW and above grew by 40%, reflecting the rollout of high-powered assets, while half of public chargers fall within the standard band (3-7.9kW), typically used for long stay or overnight charging.
Time- and estimated energy-based utilisation rates moved within a narrow band across all power categories, even as the public charging network grew 13% and total energy delivered grew an estimated 21%, which shows demand resilience as the network moved through a build-out phase.
Ultra-rapid chargers drove the majority of this growth, accounting for an estimated 52% of all energy delivered across the public network in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 44% on a year earlier.
Charging hubs incorporating multiple ultra-rapid EV chargers present the greatest potential challenges for grid resilience, wth time-based utilisation of ultra-rapid (150kW+) EV chargers averaged 12.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025, broadly in line with the same period in 2024 (12.4%) and the first quarter of that year (12.4%) – a notable result given the band grew by 3,425 chargers (+40%) over the year.
Ultra-rapid chargers exhibit the largest gap between stated capability and observed transfer rates, at an average of 55.4kW, representing roughly 26% of their stated rating. This is largely driven by vehicle acceptance limits, charging curves, and grid constraints.
They are deploying dynamic load balancing, modular power architectures, and on-site battery storage to improve throughput consistency and reduce the cost of capacity, the report found.
Specific case studies implemented into the study included Osprey Charging Network utilising dynamic load balancing and proprietary software to allocate power in real-time; Moto Hospitality investing in site design and on-site solar energy to generate capacity; and Eclipse Power employing phased capacity and “capacity banking”.
Jade Edwards, Head of Insights at Zapmap, said:
“The fact that utilisation has held steady despite a 40% expansion in Ultra-rapid infrastructure is a powerful indicator that the UK’s charging network is not just growing, but is also becoming increasingly resilient.
“What is particularly encouraging in this latest report is seeing how leading operators are already bridging the gap between rated and real-world power. By deploying dynamic load balancing and on-site storage, the industry is making the network more resilient and efficient, measures that are vital for building driver confidence. Knowing that a site can manage peak demand intelligently ensures that the next wave of EV adopters will find a reliable and capable public network ready for them.”
Jonathan Heybrock, Green Finance Institute, said:
“As the UK’s drivers increasingly adopt EVs, it is vital that we equip investors, policymakers and charge point operators with a clearer understanding of how utilisation and efficiency will define the next phase of the EV rollout.
“This third edition of the paper highlights the ‘efficiency gap’ between kW stated power ratings and real-world delivery, a factor that is now central to financial modelling for those funding the decarbonisation of road transport. By showcasing how site hosts and operators use phased capacity, battery buffering and on-site energy storage, we aim to demonstrate that the business case for these sites remains strong and is effectively future-proofed for the next generation of vehicles.”
It comes as Transport + Energy undertook a webinar with Zapmap on the issue of EV chargepoint utilisation, which can be viewed here.
