Nearly 1,300 public chargepoints have been added to the South West network since April 2024, with now more than 5,500 public chargers across the region.

The Government is investing more than £2.3 billion to back British carmakers, power growth and protect jobs as part of the Plan for Change.

Commenting on the figures, Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said:

“We want to make sure that drivers in the South West are always close to an electric vehicle charging device. That’s’ why it’s great to see the number of public charging devices in the region growing by 30% since April last year.”

The Department for Transport claims drivers can save up to £1,100 a year compared to petrol by charging at home, equating to as little as 2p per mile. Moreover, the average range of a new EV is 290 miles - approximately London to Newcastle.

From 2030, new Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles will no longer be sold in the UK, forcing the move to electric vehicles in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. EV’s emit just 1/3 of greenhouse gases compared to petrol cars. The total greenhouse gas emissions from an EV are known as its “lifecycle emissions”. These combine the emissions from manufacturing the vehicle - which tend to be higher than manufacturing internal-combustion vehicles. Powering the vehicle through its life and decommissioning the batteries at the end of their life.

The Government is investing £200m to help rollout rapid chargepoints all over the country, on top of £381m through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund to roll out tens of thousands of on-street chargers, ideal for cheaper, overnight charging for those without a driveway.

You can find national information about chargepoints from websites such as Zap-Map or National Grid.