High-powered EV charger installations at motorway services increase by 51 per cent in last eight months

The number of high-powered electric vehicle chargers being installed at motorway service stations in England has hit a new high, figures have revealed.

Data from charger mapping service Zapmap and breakdown assistance company the RAC show that 200 additional electric vehicle chargers have been installed at motorway services in England since the start of the year, representing a 51 increase over the last eight months and setting a new record for installation numbers.

These chargers are capable of delivering over 150kW of power, or enough to charge a typical EV from 10 to 80 per cent in under 30 minutes.

It means that almost half of the 115 motorway services in England now feature six or more of these high-powered chargers. Some are able to offer up to 350kW of charging power, too.

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Frankley services on the southbound M5 motorway now has a total of 28 high-powered chargers, while Reading on the M4 westbound has 25. Each motorway service station in England now has an average of seven chargers – meaning that there’s a total of 818 at 114 sites. Only four do not have any charging provision over 50kWs in speed with Welcome Break – which runs two of these facilities – stating that it was struggling to bring sufficient power to its Leicester Forest East M1 north and southbound sites.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Although the previous government’s target of having six high-powered chargers over 50kW at every motorway services in England was undoubtedly missed, it’s very clear that great progress is being made regardless and, in some locations, the number of chargers provided is now extremely impressive.

“It is particularly encouraging to see so many ultra-rapid chargers being installed, with these representing nearly three-quarters (73%) of all the high-powered devices at motorway services so far this year, up from 54% a year ago. As we’ve long said, this is just what’s needed to give current and prospective EV drivers the reassurance to know they can get back on the road quickly when making long journeys beyond the range of their cars.