Britain’s public EV charging network added more than 5,000 chargers in the first half of 2026, with the strongest growth coming from on-street and ultra-rapid infrastructure.
New figures from Zapmap show 5,119 public chargers were installed between January and the end of June, taking the total network to 121,171 chargers across 46,731 locations. That represents year-on-year growth of 10%.
The expansion is increasingly focused on two parts of the market: drivers without off-street parking and motorists needing fast charging on longer journeys.
On-street charging recorded the fastest growth by location type, rising 18% year-on-year to 39,859 chargers. These units are designed for overnight or all-day use and are becoming more important as EV adoption spreads among the roughly 40% of UK households without a driveway.
En-route charging also grew strongly, increasing 15.2% to 13,711 chargers. The number of major charging hubs, defined as sites with at least eight rapid or ultra-rapid chargers, reached 1,034 after 108 were added in the first half of the year.
Ultra-rapid chargers remain the fastest-growing power category.
The number of chargers rated at 150kW and above rose 37% year-on-year to 13,996, while standard rapid charging grew more slowly as older equipment was replaced by higher-powered units.
Several large sites opened or expanded during the period, including GRIDSERVE’s 24-charger hub at Moto Lymm Services and extra capacity at Cobham and Peterborough. Osprey, Fastned and Source EV also added new ultra-rapid hubs in Glasgow, Hemel Hempstead, London and Edinburgh.
Destination charging remains the largest category overall, with 62,609 chargers at retail sites, hotels, gyms, restaurants and leisure venues. Growth was slower at 5.7% but operators are increasingly installing faster equipment where drivers stay for less than four hours.
The next wave is likely to come from council-backed on-street schemes funded through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure programme.
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