There are now over 6,000 public electric vehicle (EV) charge points across Scotland. More charging opportunities means greater range confidence for EV drivers – supporting the transition to a net zero transport system.
The target of 6,000 charge points has been met two years earlier than planned through a combination of Scottish Government funding, increasing private sector investment and local authority planning and leadership.
To further accelerate the pace and scale of charging infrastructure delivery, a further £6.3 million has been awarded through the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund to support 11 Local Authorities across Glasgow City Region and Ayrshire region.
First Minister John Swinney said:
“I’m pleased that we’ve reached our target of 6000 public EV charge points across the country – doing so two years ahead of target. We need to maintain this rapid progress, working in greater partnership with the private sector to accelerate the pace and scale of delivery right across the country.
“That’s why I’m announcing a further £6.3 million award through our Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund which will deliver approximately 3550 more charge points in partnership with the private sector.
“In doing so, we’re working to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 – ensuring that the charging infrastructure is there for EV drivers to travel with confidence.
As a direct result, per head of population, Scotland has more public EV charge points than any other part of the UK, except London. We also benefit from more rapid public EV charge points than any other UK region, with 26.1 charging devices per 100,000 people, compared to 18.5 charging devices across the UK.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said:
“In 2023 we published our Vision for public EV charging infrastructure, highlighting the key role the private sector will play in delivering Scotland’s future EV charging requirements public charging.
“Through our £30 million EV Infrastructure Fund we are continuing to support public EV charging; providing Local Authorities with funding to enable them to work in partnership with the private sector to continue to expand public EV charging across Scotland.
“This approach is paying dividends – ensuring faster delivery and greater reliability of public charge points across the country. I’m pleased to welcome the matched investment from businesses such as IONITY which is helping to scale up the provision of public EV charging across Scotland.”
The Scottish public EV charging Vision was published in June 2023 and sets out our ambition to see a comprehensive, convenient and efficient network. The Scottish Government has announced a commitment to enabling approximately 24,000 additional public charge points by 2030, and we expect the majority of these to be delivered by the private sector.
Melanie Shufflebotham, COO and Co-founder, Zapmap said:
“Reaching the milestone of 6,000 public chargers across Scotland is a significant achievement, with the Scottish government showing great commitment to the EV sector with the forward looking investment in the ChargePlace Scotland network over the last decade. This has then been supplemented with other private networks and investment across the country.
Since the target of 6,000 public EV charge points by 2026 was announced by the Scottish Government in June 2023, charge point infrastructure has grown at an impressive rate – up 49% from 4,023 in June 2023.This number covers many different charging use cases across diverse locations, from low powered on-street chargers to destination chargers at scenic spots to 150kW+ charging hubs.
It’s exciting to see charging hubs being established across the country, from Inverness and Aberdeen in the north to around the urban centres of Glasgow and Edinburgh. This infrastructure not only supports Scottish EV drivers in their daily travels but also enables visitors to explore the stunning Scottish landscape with confidence on longer journeys."
Zapmap Insights has developed a range of products that enable the industry to understand charge point profiles as well as the patterns of utilisation across the UK’s public charging network, helping to support both benchmarking requirements and investment decisions.
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