England’s most popular public electric vehicle (EV) charging locations have been revealed by Zap-Map, the UK’s leading EV charging app.
The findings come during one of the busiest periods on the roads as families travel across the country during the summer holidays.
The rankings reflect the second quarter of 2022 and cover around 70% of the UK’s public EV charging network, excluding Tesla Superchargers.
Based on analysis of the more than 1.6 million charging sessions tracked by Bristol-based Zap-Map over the second quarter of 2022, the top five charging locations are:
- GRIDSERVE Electric Super Hub at Moto Rugby
Moto opened its Rugby site in April last year, complete with a flagship, GRIDSERVE Electric Super Hub just off the M6. It has 12 ‘high-power’ charging devices, which have both CCS and CHAdeMO connectors. Accepting contactless payments and capable of charging at up to 350 kW, these chargers can add around 100 miles in 10 minutes.
- GRIDSERVE Electric Super Hub at Moto Exeter
This Electric Super Hub at Moto’s Exeter site has roughly 17 charging devices. The hub boasts two fast Type 2 AC chargers, three medium-power, and twelve 350 kW-capable devices with CCS and CHAdeMO connectors. Opened on March 31st, on a popular holiday route, GRIDSERVE’s Exeter Super Hub is off to a flying start having seen a 240% increase in EV traffic on site in its first three months of operation.
- MFG EV Power – Newington
MFG EV Power, the ultra-rapid charging network run by St Albans-based Motor Fuel Group, also makes it into the UK’s most popular charging locations with its ultra-rapid charging hub at Newington in south London. Sporting seven charging devices, the hub is conveniently located next to the A201, between Elephant & Castle and Bermondsey.
- bp pulse – bp Hammersmith
At number four, bp pulse’s Hammersmith charging hub is just off the A4 motorway, between Hammersmith and Barons Court tube stations. With one rapid charging device and four ultra-rapid devices, the hub “may well be the smallest of the top five”, but its location next to the Hammersmith Flyover sees it put to extremely good use, according to Zap-Map.
- GRIDSERVE Braintree Electric Forecourt
GRIDSERVE’s first Electric Forecourt at Braintree in Essex opened in late 2020 – and boasts a whopping 30 charging devices. While these are predominantly ultra-rapid devices for EV drivers topping up on longer journeys, the hub sees some fast and rapid devices thrown in too for good measure.
Located just off the A131 – adjacent to Great Notley – the chargers are powered by a canopy of solar panels, as well as GRIDSERVE’s network of solar farms. There’s also a 6 MWh battery on-site that allows solar energy to be stored.
“We’ve launched seven Electric Super Hubs so far this year, including Exeter, through our partnership with Moto, plus our Electric Forecourt in Norwich and we will continue to deliver many more locations on the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway throughout this year and ongoing,” said Toddington Harper, GRIDSERVE’s chief executive.
“With over 500,000 pure-electric cars on UK roads, and the number of EV drivers joining their ranks showing no signs of slowing, high-power charging hubs are becoming increasingly popular,” said Melanie Shufflebotham, Zap-Map’s co-founder & COO.
She went on to add how popular locations such as these “help to provide peace of mind for EV drivers undertaking longer journeys, who know they can easily find a convenient location for a quick boost.”
At of the end of July 2022, there were more than 20,300 charging locations across the UK with almost 33,300 charging devices, according to Zap-Map data.
This represents a 35% increase in charging devices since July 2021, at a time when there has been a 70% increase in the number of ultra-rapid devices across the country in the same period.
The Zap-Map app – available on iOS/Android and desktop – helps EV drivers search for available charge points, plan longer journeys and pay for charging on participating networks. It now has more than 430,000 registered users.