Official Statistics

Electric vehicle charging device grant scheme statistics: April 2024

Published 29 May 2024

About this release

This release presents official statistics in development on the number of grants awarded for the installation of electric vehicle charging devices in the United Kingdom as of 1 April 2024.

These statistics are released under the ‘official statistics in development’ label – formerly called experimental statistics. For more information, see the About these statistics section.

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) provides grants to support the use of electric vehicles, including the installation of charging devices in the UK. This summary covers statistics on selected grant schemes currently running, including the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant (EVCG) and the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS). The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is closed to new applicants, but this publication still covers devices installed under the scheme and devices proposed for install in ongoing projects. This publication also covers the Domestic Recharging Scheme (DRS) and Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS), the predecessors to the EVCG.

The next quarterly report is scheduled for release in August 2024.

We welcome feedback on this quarterly publication. If you would like to provide feedback please email electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics.

Headline figures

Domestic charging devices

As of 1 April 2024:

• the newest domestic OZEV funded grant scheme, the EVCG, has funded the installation of 6,675 domestic sockets since the scheme was launched in April 2022

Workplace charging devices

As of 1 April 2024:

• the WCS has funded the installation of 53,529 sockets in workplace carparks since the scheme started in 2016

• the WCS funded 9,034 sockets installations since April 2023

On-street residential devices

As of 1 April 2024:

• completed ORCS projects represent 8,354 public charging devices installed across local authorities in the UK since the scheme’s launch in 2017

• projects completed in the last 3 months include a total of 3,080 on-street charging device installations

• funding has also been awarded for 12,349 additional ORCS charging devices. This includes both devices installed, but where projects are yet to complete, and those to be installed in the future

Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant (EVCG)

The EV chargepoint grant provides funding towards the cost of installing electric vehicle smart chargepoints at domestic properties across the UK. It replaced the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) on 1 April 2022.

The EVCG can be broken down by the following residential grants:

• electric vehicle chargepoint grants for residential landlords - grants of up to £350 per socket for existing properties that the applicant owns or manages but does not live within such as an apartment block, housing estate, private registered provider of social housing or public sector organisation

• electric vehicle infrastructure grant for residential car parks - grants up to £30,000 off the costs of the infrastructure needed to install chargepoints in residential car parks

• flat owner-occupiers and people living in rented properties - grants of up to £350 for electric vehicle drivers who live in a flat or rent any residential property

Chart 1 - Cumulative growth of EVCG funded charging sockets, UK (Table 1)

Chart 1 is a bar chart that shows as of 1 April 2024, 6,675 sockets have been installed, this corresponds to approximately £5.2 million in grants. Flats and renters account for 3,813 sockets installed, this accounts for 57% of installations. Residential car parks account for 1,902 sockets installed, accounting for 28%. The remaining 14% is from landlords’ applications whose grants had installed 960 sockets.

It is worth noting that car parks and landlords can apply for larger grants, as opposed to a flat which will always only have one installation. More information about the EVCG is available.

These statistics are taken from a database which records grant applications for administrative purposes. Grants can take several months to process and the most recent quarters are likely to be undercounted. The statistics should therefore be treated as provisional.

Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS)

The WCS is a voucher-based scheme designed to provide eligible organisations with support towards the upfront costs of the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging devices. If an application is successful, applicants are issued with a unique identification voucher, which can then be used to install multiple charging devices. In these statistics, the number of sockets installed is counted as sometimes there is one grant for up to four charging devices in the same workplace car park. More information on the WCS is available.

Chart 2 - Cumulative growth of WCS funded sockets, as of first of each quarter (Table 2)

Chart 2 is a bar chart that shows the increase in WCS sockets installed since the scheme started in late 2016. A total of 21,880 vouchers have been redeemed in total accounting for 53,529 sockets installed under the WCS grant. This equated to a total grant value of £19.7 million.

In the last 12 months, 4,634 vouchers were redeemed, corresponding to the installation of 9,034 sockets. This had a grant value of £3.1 million.

These statistics are taken from a database which records grant applications for administrative purposes. Grants can take several months to process and the most recent quarters are likely to be undercounted. The statistics should therefore be treated as provisional.

For example, the number of WCS installations from October to December 2023 has increased by 858 since the last publication (January 2024), as more applications for that period have been processed.

Maps 1 and 2 - Regional distribution of total number of WCS socket installations and per 100,000 of population, UK, 1 April 2024

Map 1 shows the regional distribution of WCS funded sockets across the UK. The South East had the highest uptake with 7,849 sockets installed whilst Wales and Northern Ireland had the lowest, 2,018 and 946 respectively. Together, Wales and Northern Ireland accounted for 5.5% of total sockets installed under the WCS in the UK.

Map 2 shows the number of WCS funded sockets per 100,000 population in each UK region. London had the smallest rate of WCS installations, with 40 WCS installations per 100,000 population. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland also had fewer WCS installations per 100,000 than any UK region except London.

Further detail on the regional breakdown of WCS socket numbers displayed in Maps 1 and 2 can be found in Annex B.

Table 3 and Table 4 also provide a further breakdown of WCS sockets installed and their grant value in each local authority in the UK.

On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS)

This scheme is closed to new applicants. This publication covers devices installed under the scheme, and devices proposed for install under ongoing ORCS projects. ORCS was available to all UK local authorities to part-fund the capital costs of installing public local charging devices to ensure those without off-street parking can access reliable charging infrastructure.

ORCS projects are only counted as completed when all devices have been installed and final funding payments have been claimed by the local authority. As such, the total number of devices installed using ORCS funding could be larger than reported in completed projects, as those in partially completed projects are not included.

Maps 3 and 4 - Distribution of local authorities which have been awarded ORCS funding for the UK and London, 1 April 2024

Map 3 shows councils in the UK and Map 4 highlights councils within Greater London. Both maps show whether councils have completed all projects which received ORCS funding, have had funding awarded to install devices, or have made no applications for ORCS funding.

As of 1 April 2024, the ORCS has funded 8,354 public charging devices in completed projects since the scheme was established in 2017. This represents £31.3 million of grant funding across 146 councils. The details of which can be found in Table 5 and Table 6. Of these, 3,080 on-street devices were within projects completed in the previous 3 months.

Of the councils that have already completed projects which received ORCS funding, 41 have had further funding awarded to install a further 7,463 charging devices with a grant value of £24.9 million.

A further 73 local authorities have also been awarded grant funding, to provide 4,886 on-street public charging devices. This represents a grant value of £26.5 million.

The number of ORCS approved applications in London outnumber the rest of the country, and account for 44% of all ORCS approved applications.

A table of councils which have applied for this funding can be found in Table 7 and Table 8.

Current levels of public charging provision by local authority area can be found in the public charging infrastructure statistics quarterly release series. These will include the ORCS funded charging devices.

Previous domestic schemes

Since 1 April 2022 the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) is no longer open to new applicants and has been replaced with the EV chargepoint grant.

The EVHS provided grant funding for up to £350 of the cost of installing electric vehicle charging devices at domestic properties across the UK. More information on the EVHS is available.

Since September 2014, a total of 340,222 domestic charging devices were installed under the EVHS, with a total grant value of £140.8 million.

In addition to the EVHS, the Domestic Recharge Scheme (DRS) also helped private plug-in vehicle owners offset the upfront cost of the purchase and installation of a dedicated recharging unit. This funded 40,333 domestic charging device installations between 2013 and 2014, before it was replaced by the EVHS. A quarterly breakdown of DRS installations can be found in Table 13.

Together, the EVHS and DRS contributed to the installation of 380,555 domestic electric vehicle charging devices across the UK.

Table 10 and Table 12 also provides a breakdown of EVHS charging devices and their grant value in each local authority in the UK whilst Table 11 provides a breakdown of charging devices installed in each postcode district.

About these statistics

These statistics are released under the ‘official statistics in development’ label – formerly called experimental statistics. Official statistics in development are official statistics that are temporarily undergoing a development and are being tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Parts of these statistics are new, such as the latest grant scheme, the EVCG, the coverage for which is still being developed. These statistics are also still subject to testing in terms of their volatility and ability to meet customer needs. They do not necessarily meet the rigorous quality standards of Accredited Official Statistics, formerly known as National Statistics, for example with respect to partial coverage, the use of administrative data, and under-counting in most recent quarters whilst applications for grants are still being processed.

Further details on the limitations of official statistics in development can be found at the Office for Statistics Regulation.

These statistics are under continuous development and are subject to testing in terms of their volatility and ability to meet customer needs. We welcome feedback from users of the statistics, particularly as we continue to develop our coverage of the grant schemes covered in this publication. This can be provided via electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics.

More information about the development plan for these statistics is in progress and will be available in a methodology and background note which will be published to accompany this release series in due course.

Background notes and limitations of data

This is a quarterly statistical release on electric vehicle infrastructure grant data. We welcome feedback from users of the statistics. This can be provided by emailing electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics.

These statistics are taken from databases which record grant applications for administrative purposes. In some cases, grants can take several months to process with the most recent quarter likely to be undercounted for the EVCG and WCS.

ORCS projects are only counted as completed when all devices have been installed and final funding payments have been claimed by the local authority. As such, the total number of devices installed using ORCS funding is larger than reported in completed projects, as those in partially completed projects are not included.

The total number of domestic and workplace charging devices installed in the UK is likely to be different to the figures provided in this report as there is no requirement to register a privately funded charging device with the Government. We are also unable to confirm if the charging devices installed under the schemes are still operational. In addition, chargepoint manufacturers have to be approved by OZEV with some choosing not to be part of the grant schemes:

• approved manufacturers for the EVCG

• approved manufacturers for the WCS

These statistics present data on selected OZEV schemes which are currently running. OZEV offers a range of other support for the take-up of plug in vehicles, including further targeted schemes providing funding to support chargepoint infrastructure across the UK. More information can be found on the OZEV website.

Population figures by local authority are sourced from the Office for National Statistics Population Mid-Year Estimates for 2021. Household figures by local authority are sourced from the Office for National Statistics Estimated Number of Households in the UK in 2018. The local authority administrative geographies are from April 2023, available from the ONS Geography Portal.

The quarterly statistical series complements three earlier releases presenting statistics on observed usage and charging patterns for electric vehicle charging devices:

• local authority rapids

• public sector fasts

• domestics

The Department for Transport also publishes statistics on publicly available electric vehicle charging devices.

To hear more about DfT statistical publications as they are released, please follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) at DfTstats.

Annex A: EVCG funded charging sockets

Table 1 - Cumulative growth of EVCG funded charging sockets, UK (Chart 1)

As of 1 April 2024:

Date	Car Park	Flats and Renters	Landlord
01/04/2022	0	1	0
01/07/2022	102	466	22
01/10/2022	467	965	129
01/01/2023	641	1,377	224
01/04/2023	924	1,842	362
01/07/2023	1,143	2,362	558
01/10/2023	1,504	2,939	670
01/01/2024	1,802	3,497	803
01/04/2024	1,902	3,813	960

Annex B: WCS Regional Table

Table 2 - WCS Total Sockets and Devices per 100,000 Population per Region (Maps 1 and 2)

As of 1 April 2024:

Region	WCS Total Sockets	WCS Sockets per 100,000 Population
United Kingdom	53,529	80
North East	2,525	95
North West	6,157	83
Yorkshire and the Humber	5,395	98
East Midlands	5,094	104
West Midlands	5,422	91
East of England	6,510	103
London	3,489	40
South East	7,849	84
South West	4,737	83
Wales	2,018	65
Scotland	3,387	62
Northern Ireland	946	50

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Contact details

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics

Email evci.stats@dft.gov.uk