Nottingham tops listing for most rapid and ultra-rapid EV chargers

Published 20 June 2022

Nottingham has been named as the UK city with the most rapid and ultra-rapid EV chargers.
Four of the top five cities in the listing are in the Midlands.
The number of rapid and ultra-rapid chargers has increased by more than 490 per cent since the end of 2016.

Nottingham is the UK city with the most rapid and ultra-rapid electric vehicle charging points, according to new research.

In total, it had 122 rapid and ultra-rapid chargers at the end of April (92 rapid chargers and 30 ultra-rapid chargers) compared with 106 in Milton Keynes, which was second in the league table, with 100 rapid charges and six ultra-rapid chargers.

Rapid chargers take between 20 minutes to an hour to add around 100 miles of charge and are found at many different locations from motorway service areas and fuel forecourts to restaurants, hotels and retail car parks.

Ultra-rapid devices can add about 100 miles of charge in around 15 minutes. Useful for drivers undertaking longer journeys, they tend to be found in groups of between six and 10. The analysis by Admiral and Zap-Map saw Birmingham come out on top in this respect, with 39 high-powered ultra-rapid chargers.

EV Charging At Motorway Services

Overall, the Midlands was found to be a hotspot for charging your electric car as quickly as possible with Coventry also featuring in the top five locations for rapid and ultra-rapid chargers.

The top 20 towns and cities for fast EV charging

City/town	Number of rapid chargers	Number of ultra-rapid chargers	Total
Nottingham	92	30	122
Milton Keynes	100	6	106
Leeds	60	17	77
Birmingham	34	39	73
Coventry	71	0	71
Bristol	45	23	68
Manchester	36	26	62
Sheffield	48	9	57
Glasgow	46	6	52
Wolverhampton	26	23	49
Norwich	20	28	48
Dundee	36	8	44
Bradford	39	0	39
Exeter	10	27	37
Slough	7	29	36
Derby	20	14	34
Cardiff	24	10	34
Banbury	5	29	34
Preston	31	2	33
Newscastle upon Tyne	31	2	33

A separate study recently found Milton Keynes had the highest number of charging points per 100,000 people. See the best and worst places to charge an EV.

Number of EVs insured rises 79 per cent

As the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars draws nearer, and the number of EV owners continues to rise, Admiral’s own data shows the growing popularity of electric vehicles, with drivers insuring 79 per cent more pure-electric vehicles (and 20 per cent more hybrid vehicles) in 2022 compared with 2021.

Meanwhile, the number of rapid and ultra-rapid chargers has grown in recent years from 973 at the end of 2016 to more than 5,750 at the end of April 2022 - more than a 490 per cent increase. In the last year (April 2021 to April 2022) there has been been a 74 per cent increase in the number of ultra-rapid devices.

Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-founder & COO at Zap-Map, said: “As the number of pure-electric cars on the road approaches half a million, a robust charging network is critical. Over the past few years there has been huge investment in high-powered chargers and it's great to see many cities across the UK having a strong provision.

“There are of course a range of different needs when it comes to charging an EV, but continued investment in high-powered chargers for longer journeys is crucial as the number of EVs on the road continues to grow at pace. Nottingham may well be leading the charge in this area right now, but it will certainly be interesting to see which city takes the top spot in two years’ time.”

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