Yahoo Autos Electric vehicle charger ‘floodgates open’ in 2024
Osprey's network grew from 400 to more than 1000 chargers in 2023
The installation rate of public electric vehicle chargers in the UK will grow unprecedentedly in 2024, according to the CEO of charger provider Osprey.
Ian Johnston – who is also the chairman of industry body ChargeUK – told Autocar that the rate of installations is “going to make 2023 look like a quiet year”, pointing to the delivery of Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (Levi) funding to local authorities.
According to data from charger mapping service Zap-Map, there were 53,906 public chargers across the UK at the end of December 2023. That represented a 45% increase year-on-year.
The Levi scheme was announced in March 2022, promising £450 million in funding for local authorities to install chargers in residential areas. The first payments were made in September 2023.
Johnston said: “We're going to start to see the opening of the floodgates for local-authority chargers.
“With the Levi scheme, there have been delays in the past, but there’s a real focus now to get those projects moving; to get the local authorities the resources they need in terms of having project staff on the ground to get these projects developed and delivered.”
His prediction comes after an August 2023 investigation by Vauxhall that found that more than two thirds of UK councils had yet to install any kerbside EV chargers.
Of the councils that responded to Vauxhall’s investigation, 45% stated that they had no plans to install chargers by the end of 2023.
Johnston added: “When the Levi scheme properly gets motoring later this year, then you’re going to see quite a shift. You’re going to see the floodgates open and thousands upon thousands of on-street chargers coming.
