EV charger rollout in UK slows amid political uncertainty and rise in installation costs

The rollout of public electric vehicle chargers in the UK has decelerated sharply, with installations in the first half of 2026 growing at a fraction of the pace recorded two years earlier, as policy uncertainty and cost pressures weigh on the industry. Charger companies installed 5,100 public charge points in the first half of 2026, bringing the national total to 121,171, according to data firm Zapmap [1]. The 10% increase compared with the same period a year earlier marks a significant slowdown from growth rates above 40% in 2024 [1]. The UK government has set a target of 300,000 public chargers by 2030, while the number of electric vehicles on Britain’s roads surpassed 2m in April [1]. The deceleration comes as the car industry lobbies to weaken the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which was introduced by the Conservatives in 2023 and requires a rapid increase in electric car sales each year [1]. The Labour government has already added flexibilities allowing manufacturers to sell more petrol-engine cars and is considering lowering the headline EV sales target from 80% by 2030 to as low as 50% [1]. Jarrod Birch, head of policy and public affairs at ChargeUK, said the public charging network had doubled over the past three years and that rapid charging was growing quickest of all, with nine in 10 built outside London in the past 12 months [1]. “It is a British success story, funded by private investment made on the certainty of future customers that the government’s ZEV mandate provides,” Birch said [1]. He added: “But the mandate has now been argued over for three years, under two governments. It is no surprise that investors are hesitating as doubt surrounds the policy once again.” [1] Zapmap’s figures showed a 37% year-on-year increase in ultra-rapid chargers, which deliver more than 150 kW of power and are typically located on motorways and main roads [1]. Melanie Shufflebotham, Zapmap’s co-founder and chief operating officer, described the first-half installations as “a steady rollout” with “high growth” in the ultra-rapid segment [1]. She noted that councils were beginning to deploy chargers funded by the government’s local electric vehicle infrastructure scheme, alongside increased through-pavement charging and installations at supermarkets, car parks and fuel forecourts [1]. The tougher environment has already prompted consolidation. InstaVolt, one of the largest charging companies, last week bought the smaller GeniePoint network [1]. The industry faces rising costs and intense competition, and further mergers and acquisitions are expected [1]. The ZEV mandate debate echoes earlier moments when regulatory certainty shaped investment in automotive technology. The Volkswagen emissions scandal, which erupted in 2015, demonstrated how software could be used to cheat laboratory tests, with vehicles emitting up to 40 times more nitrogen oxides in real-world driving than during regulatory checks [2]. The episode, involving about 11 million cars worldwide, underscored the consequences of weak enforcement and the importance of credible mandates in steering industry behaviour [2].