Official Statistics

Electric vehicle charging device grant scheme statistics: October 2021

Published 11 November 2021

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About this release

This summary presents experimental statistics on the number of grants awarded for the installation of electric vehicle charging devices in the United Kingdom up to the start of October 2021.

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 Homecharge Scheme (EVHS), Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) and the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS).

Headline figures

Domestic Charging Devices

As of 1 October 2021:

• OZEV funded grant schemes (EVHS and DRS) have delivered 230,148 domestic charging devices since 2013
• the EVHS has funded the installation of 189,815 domestic charging devices
• in the last 12 months, the EVHS installed 61,339 devices, up nearly 50% from October 2020

Workplace Charging Devices

As of 1 October 2021:

• the WCS has funded the installation of 19,054 sockets in workplace carparks since the scheme started in 2016
• In the last 12 months, 7,830 of these WCS sockets were installed, up 70% from October 2020

On-Street Residential Devices

As of 1 October 2021:

• the ORCS has funded 1,603 public charging devices which have been installed across local authorities in the UK
• of these, 144 charging devices were installed after being claimed for by the local authorities in the last 3 months
• funding has also been awarded for 3,920 more ORCS charging devices to be installed in the future

Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS)

The EVHS provides grant funding for up to 75% of the cost of installing electric vehicle charging devices at domestic properties across the UK. More information on the grant scheme is available.

Chart 1 shows the cumulative growth of EVHS funded charging devices (Table EVG_01)

Since September 2014, a total of 189,815 domestic charging devices have been installed under the scheme, with a total grant value of £88,107,323. In the last 12 months, EVHS funded charging devices have increased by nearly 50% with a funding value of £21,445,487.

These statistics are taken from a database held by DVLA which records grant applications for administrative purposes. Grants can take several months to process and the most recent quarters are likely to be undercounted, especially the third quarter of 2021. The statistics should therefore be treated as provisional. For example, the number of EVHS installations from April to July 2021 has increased by 27,809 since the last publication, as more applications for that period have been processed.

In addition to the EVHS, the Domestic Recharge Scheme (DRS) has also helped private plug-in vehicle owners offset the upfront cost of the purchase and installation of a dedicated recharging unit. This funded an additional 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 EVG_12.

Together, the EVHS and DRS have contributed to the installation of 230,148 domestic electric vehicle charging devices across the UK as of 1 October 2021.

There is an uneven geographical distribution of EVHS charging devices within the UK. Grant uptake by consumers is likely to be dependent on a variety of factors, including:

• access to an electric vehicle
• access to off-street parking
• leasehold or tenancy properties
• car ownership
• rurality
• income

Maps 1 and 2 show the regional distribution of the total number of EVHS installations and per 100,000 households

As Map 1 shows, the South East had the highest number of charging device installations under the EVHS, accounting for 19% of total devices installed under the scheme. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland had the lowest number of installations with 3,268 EVHS funded charging devices, accounting for just 1.7% of total EVHS funded devices.

As Map 2 shows, the South East also had the highest number of EVHS devices per 100,000 households whilst Northern Ireland, Wales and London had the lowest with less than 500 devices per 100,000 households. Further detail on the regional breakdown of EVHS device numbers displayed in Maps 1 and 2 can be found in Annex A.

Table EVG_02 and Table EVG_04 provides a breakdown of EVHS charging devices and their grant value in each local authority in the UK whilst Table EVG_03 provides a breakdown of charging devices installed in each postcode district.

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 carpark.

More information on the grant scheme is available.

Chart 2 shows the cumulative growth of WCS funded sockets (Table EVG_05)

Since the scheme started in late 2016, a total of 6,958 vouchers have been redeemed accounting for 19,054 sockets installed under the WCS grant. This equated to a total grant value of £7,927,714.

In the last 12 months, 3,069 vouchers were redeemed, corresponding to the installation of 7,380 sockets. This had a grant value of £2,783,711. This represented a 70% increase in WCS sockets across the UK.

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.

Maps 3 and 4 show the regional distribution of the total number of WCS socket installations and per 100,000 of the population

As Map 3 shows, in terms of regional distribution of WCS sockets, the South East had the highest uptake with 2,739 sockets installed whilst Wales and Northern Ireland had the lowest. Together, Wales and Northern Ireland accounted for 5.9% of total sockets installed under the WCS in the UK.

When comparing the regional distribution per 100,000 of the population as seen in Map 4, London had the smallest number of WCS installations in the UK with 14 WCS installations per 100,000. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland also had fewer WCS installations than any English region except London.

Further detail on the regional breakdown of WCS socket numbers displayed in Maps 3 and 4 can be found in Annex A.

Table EVG_06 and Table EVG_07 provides 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 available to all UK local authorities to fund up to 75% of the capital costs of installing on-street residential charging devices to ensure that those without private off-street parking are able to access reliable and affordable charging infrastructure. More information on the scheme is available.

Maps 5 and 6 show the distribution of local authorities which have been awarded ORCS funding for the UK and London

As of 1 October 2021, the ORCS has funded the installation of 1,603 public charging devices since the scheme was established in 2017. This represents £5,236,664 of grant funding across 57 councils. The details of which can be found in Table EVG_08 and Table EVG_09. An additional 144 on-street devices were recorded as installed in the last 3 months.

Of the councils that have already completed installations, 16 have had further funding awarded to install an additional 1,104 charging devices with a grant value of £3,262,455.

A further 72 local authorities have also been awarded grant funding, providing 2,816 on-street public charging devices with their installations yet to be completed. This represents a grant value of £11,550,482.

A table of councils which have applied for this funding can be found in Table EVG_10 and Table EVG_11 and are shown for the UK and London in Maps 5 and 6.

The ORCS grants are offered to successful applicants, but funds are only released upon final completion of information. Charging devices are only counted as installed when they have been installed and claimed for by the local authority.

In February 2021, OZEV announced that the scheme would continue into the 2021 to 2022 financial year with a £20 million budget.

Current levels of public charging provision by local authority area can be found in the public electric vehicle charging devices statistics which are published quarterly. These will include the ORCS funded charging devices.

Background notes and limitations of data

This is a quarterly statistical release on electric vehicle infrastructure grant data. We would welcome feedback from users of the statistics. This can be provided by emailing Environment 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 both for the EVHS and WCS. These statistics should therefore be treated as provisional. For example, the number of EVHS installations for April to July 2021 has increased by 27,809 since the last publication, as more applications for that period have been processed.

The ORCS grants are offered to successful applicants, but funds are only released upon final completion of information. Charging devices are only counted as installed when they have been installed and claimed for by the local authority.

The total number of domestic and workplace charging devices in the UK is likely to be different to the figures provided. For instance, 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 must be approved by OZEV with some choosing not to be part of the grant schemes.

A list of approved manufacturers for the:

• EVHS
• WCS

In addition, 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 2020. 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 2021, available from the ONS Geography Portal.

The quarterly statistical series compliments 3 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.

Experimental Statistics

These quarterly statistics are badged as Experimental Statistics. Users should be aware of the status and cautions of these series, which will vary for each statistic and will be explained in each publication. The statistics are new but 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 National Statistics, for example with administrative data. Further details on the limitations of Experimental Statistics can be found at the Office for Statistics Regulation.

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Annex A: EVHS and WCS Regional Table

Table 1 - EVHS Total Devices and Devices per 100,000 Households per Region (Maps 1 and 2)

Region	EVHS Total Devices	EVHS Devices per 100,000 Households
United Kingdom	189,815	693
North East	7,389	642
North West	19,551	637
Yorkshire and the Humber	14,902	651
East Midlands	15,031	905
West Midlands	16,771	706
East of England	20,900	820
London	15,847	463
South East	36,660	820
South West	17,198	736
Wales	6,555	486
Scotland	14,046	568
Northern Ireland	3,268	435
Unknown	1,697	N/A

Table 2 - WCS Total Sockets and Devices per 100,000 Population per Region (Maps 3 and 4)

Region	WCS Total Sockets	WCS Sockets per 100,000 Population
United Kingdom	19,054	28
North East	965	36
North West	2,156	29
Yorkshire and the Humber	1,976	36
East Midlands	1,808	37
West Midlands	1,991	33
East of England	2,210	35
London	1,249	14
South East	2,739	30
South West	1,789	32
Wales	732	23
Scotland	1,048	19
Northern Ireland	391	21

Next update

Quarterly electric vehicle charging device grant scheme statistics will be released in February 2022.

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