HOW GOOD IS BRITAIN’S ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING NETWORK?

As more cars go electric, the demand for public charging points is set to increase. We find out whether the network is ready for the challenge

THE NUMBER OF public chargers for electric vehicles (EVS) has more than tripled since 2016 and there are now more than 24,000 charging points around the UK, with the capacity to charge 42,500 cars simultaneously.

What’s more, you no longer have to be in a motorway service station or shopping centre car park to find one; there has been a rapid roll-out of innovative new charging solutions, such as chargers fitted into lamp-posts and the arrival of service areas purely for EVS. And with the likes of BP and Shell fitting them at existing fossil fuel filling stations, it’s starting to feel like the network is filling out to the point where most people will be able to find a rapid charger within the 30-mile limit set by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the March 2020 Budget.

So, how good is Britain’s charging network? Are the chargers accessible, reliable and easy to use and do they offer value for money?

To find out, we asked almost 1000 EV owners to tell us what they thought of the major charging companies. We asked them how highly they rated the devices they’d used for charging speed, cost, dependability and location, as well as giving them an overall score.

To get a snapshot of what it’s like to use the public charging network, we also travelled around England and Scotland in an Audi E-tron Sportback and a Tesla Model 3 to test the charging facilities ourselves, visiting at least one site operated by each provider. We rated each network on the same criteria that the EV owners used and added in an ease-of-use rating that takes into account whether you have to go through a lengthy sign-up process to use a charging point or if you can simply charge up and pay.

By combining the survey responses with our own research, we’ve created unique satisfaction ratings for 12 public charging companies, enabling us to reveal the best charging networks and the ones to avoid.

‘The fastest chargers can add 60 miles of range in as little as five minutes’