Surge in Electric Vehicle drivers using ultra-rapid chargers. Subscribe to the Electric Vehicle News Bitesize Podcast for FREE!

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According to Zap-Map’s latest Electric Vehicle charging survey, there has been a surge in the use of ultra-fast chargers to 27 percent of Electric Vehicle drivers, up from 16 percent last year.

Satisfaction among Electric Vehicle drivers is also high, they are increasingly confident in long-distance driving, with less than 1% wanting to switch back to petrol or diesel; plus a new top 18 charging network ranking based on driver satisfaction , Motor Fuels Groups EV Power came in second behind InstaVolt and ahead of Osprey.

The annual report on Apps and Digital Platforms for Electric Vehicle Drivers aims to provide direct insight into the experience and behavior of electric vehicle drivers and how their behavior has changed over time.

Based on feedback from more than 3,000 electric vehicle drivers in the UK, new research reveals new trends in charging behaviour – particularly in relation to high-power on-route charging and the growing popularity of charging stations.

As the vast majority of Electric Vehicle drivers (93%) continue to use the UK’s public charging network and 40% use a public charger at least once a week, the survey shows a significant increase in both the installation and use of high-power/superchargers.

While the majority of Electric Vehicle drivers overall are still using Rapid chargers (25kW – 99kW), the survey found a surge in the use of ultra-fast chargers has soared to 27% of Electric Vehicle drivers, up from 16% in the previous survey.

This growth in usage is driven by the growing number of ultra-fast chargers available now, and the number of ultra-fast devices available will grow by 60% by the end of 2021, the report said. It also clearly shows that the new ultra-fast chargers meet the needs of Electric Vehicles drivers traveling long distances, as most new EVs can now be charged at higher speeds and not enough destinations have destination chargers.

Ultra-fast devices are 100kW+ chargers, and they are prime examples of on-route charging when drivers want to charge their Electric Vehicle as quickly as possible. For this reason, and as drivers want to ensure these devices are available when they arrive, another trend highlighted by the survey is the growing popularity of electric vehicle charging hubs.

These hubs typically consist of 4 to 10 chargers, and mostly come with rapid or ultra-fast devices, allowing drivers to charge anywhere from 70 to 200 miles in about 30 minutes.

As a result, the survey also found that the locations where these charging hubs are installed enjoy particularly high demand from Electric Vehicle drivers. For example, Insta Volt’s share of Electric Vehicle charging sessions rose to 42%, a surge from 26% previously. The Gridserve Electric Highway also proved to be 29% more popular in its first year, while the high-power network Ionity and Osprey also saw a significant increase in the use of chargers by Electric Vehicle drivers.

While the use of charging hubs has grown the most, supermarkets and motorway service stations remain in the top two spots, with 52% and 50% of respondents reporting frequent use of these types of locations, respectively.

Over the last year, Gridserve has seen a significant increase in the number of charging points installed at supermarkets and motorway service stations.

Additionally, retail and public car parks remain popular charging locations, although usage has declined over the last year.

In other news.

BP deal sends Nasdaq-listed Electric Vehicle charging stock Tritium soaring.

Tritium and BP have signed a multi-year agreement to supply electric vehicle chargers. It’s the latest example of a major energy company trying to cement its position in the booming electric vehicle market.

The deal will initially focus on ordering “nearly 1,000 chargers” for the UK, Australia and New Zealand markets, according to a statement from Tritium on Monday.

Tritium, an Australian company established in 2001, specializes in the development and production of DC fast chargers for electric vehicles. Shares of the Nasdaq-listed company enjoyed a surge of more than 12% on Monday after opening flat on Tuesday. The stock is still down about 4% so far this year.

In late March, BP, known for its oil and gas production, announced it would invest £1bn ($1.3bn) over 10 years into the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

BP said the money would “enable the deployment of more rapid and ultra-fast chargers in key locations.” The company also said its charging business, known as BP Pulse, would “approximately triple its number of charging points by 2030.”

BP’s announcement comes on the same day the UK government released its electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, which expects the country to have “at least” about 300,000 public charging stations by 2030.

BP isn’t the only company breaking new ground in the electric vehicle charging market. Shell had announced in January the opening of an “electric vehicle charging centre” in London. Shell said it had replaced petrol and diesel pumps on site with so-called “ultra-fast charging stations”.

The fossil fuel power house aims to have 50,000 street chargers installed by mid-decade through its subsidiary Ubitricity.

The need for new charging infrastructure in the UK is likely to become more urgent in the coming years, especially as authorities aim to stop the sale of new diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2030. The UK will require all new cars and vans to have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035.

According to figures released in early April by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, new battery electric vehicle registrations in the UK reached 39,315 in March, up 78.7% year-on-year.

“This is the highest volume of BEV registrations ever recorded in a single month, and means that more were registered in March 2022 than during the entirety of 2019,” the SMMT said.

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