By ELLA MANNING
Motorists face a 'North-South divide' as the rollout of electric car charging points slams into reverse.
A mere 628 public chargers were installed in December, taking the total number added last year to 14,097, according to industry group Zapmap.
That was down nearly 30 per cent on the 19,834 installed in 2024 and more than 2,500 fewer than in 2023. The report also reveals a disparity in public charging points, with almost one in three in London and nearly half in London and the South East.
Of the 87,796 chargers installed, 27,895 are in London and the South East has 11,136.
Running out of gas: A mere 628 public chargers were installed in December, taking the total number added last year to 14,097, according to industry group Zapmap
By contrast, there are just 2,550 in the North East. Westminster alone has more public charging points than Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle combined.
Experts warned a shortage of charge points will fuel 'range anxiety' and lead drivers to lose faith in the green transition.
Ginny Buckley, chief executive of electric vehicle (EV) buying and advice site Electrifying.com, said: 'A lack of reliable charging in northern cities directly undermines confidence in EV driving. This is a real North–South divide. When one London borough has more chargers than five major northern cities combined, it sends a clear signal to drivers outside the South that the system isn't working for them.'
Buckley said Coventry also has more chargers than Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield combined, despite having only one eighth of the population.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: 'If there's one issue that still weighs heavily in the minds of motorists wavering about going electric it is how comfortable they feel about being able to recharge their cars. Confidence in the public charging network is not just a numbers game, drivers also need to be assured that chargers will be available, working and easy to use.'
The figures come as a hammer blow to Labour's Net Zero plans and the goal of having 300,000 public charging points installed by 2030. The Government is also facing a backlash over the Budget announcement of a pay-per-mile EV excise duty of 3p per mile, and 1.5p for hybrids.
Vicky Read, boss of EV lobby group Charge UK, said: 'This is not the time for complacency.'
