The UK’s favourite electric vehicle charge providers revealed
Electric vehicle owners have voted Tesla’s charging network as the best in the UK.
The findings come from Zap-Map’s annual survey of EV owners who use the site to find charging stations nearby.
The 1,500 respondents rated Tesla’s network 4.8 out of five, which helped it retain its spot at the top after also winning in 2019. Owners rated the American firm’s own Supercharger network the full five stars overall, but the network’s overall score was knocked down slightly by its Destination chargers, which were rated 4.4.
Instavolt held onto its second place in the ranking with a score of 4.4, while third place went to Osprey (formerly Engenie), which climbed from eighth last year thanks to a 4.1 rating.
The top five was completed by Pod Point (3.7) and newcomer Swarco E.connect (3.6).
Networks were rated on their reliability, ease of use, cost, and local amenities close to the charge points.
Tesla has 562 Superchargers across the UK, which provide a charge of up to 250kW, making them some of the fastest chargers available. There are also 1,186 Destination chargers, which are located at places such as hotels and restaurants, which provide a charge of up to 22kW.
The network is only available to Tesla owners, which makes it possible for charging to be provided without the need for accounts or contactless cards; owners just plug in and are automatically charged for the electricity they use. Many early adopters even get free electricity from this network.
Dr Ben Lane, Co-founder and CTO at Zap-Map, said: “This year’s network rankings should focus the minds of all EV charging providers. As the survey demonstrates, EV drivers are very clear about the factors that make for a good charging experience, with reliability and ease of use being key priorities.
“A new generation of drivers want to arrive at a charge point and be confident that it will be simple to use and a trouble-free experience. They are quick to pick up that different networks offer varying levels of service, and will actively visit networks that provide a reliable and easy-to-use experience.
“The Zap-Map user rankings also highlight which networks urgently need to improve their charging services. As the EV market moves from early adopters to the mass market, EV drivers just want to charge without any fuss.
“Poor-performing networks will need to take a long, hard look at the quality of the services they offer if they want to retain their customers as the EV market grows apace.”
At the bottom of the table Electric Highway by Ecotricity placed last with a score of two out of five. Just ahead of that was Charge Your Car (2.6), Source London (2.7), BP Pulse, formerly known as BP Chargemaster/Polar, (2.9) and GeniePoint (3.0).
