Revealed: Britain’s best EV charging networks 2019

Tesla “continues to set the gold-standard for EV charging experience”, according to a new study.

A satisfaction survey of more than 1,600 electric car drivers ranks Tesla as the UK’s number one charging network. The Supercharger network scored an impressive 94 out of 100.

More than 86 percent of Tesla drivers said they are ‘very satisfied’ with the charging network, with a further 10 percent claiming they are ‘somewhat satisfied’.

Tesla might find it hard to stay on top. A larger range of cars and increased sales will put pressure on the Supercharger network, while a loss of free charging for some owners could see a decline in satisfaction.

Indeed, Tesla’s satisfaction score, while impressive, is down 6 percent on this time last year.

Zap-Map, the organisation behind the study, asked charging network users to rank four key issues related to public chargers. 

Unsurprisingly, reliability is the most important factor, followed by speed of charging, cost and facilities at the charging network.

‘EV drivers are increasingly savvy’

Dr Ben Lane, CTO and joint MD at Zap-Map, said: “EV drivers are very clear as to what makes for a good charging experience with ‘reliability’ being the number one priority. EV users need to be able to access the whole of the UK network with confidence that the installed chargers will be working and available as advertised.

“EV drivers are increasingly savvy about the different levels of service offered by each of the UK’s charging networks and will change their driving routes to use those which offer the best service.

“This suggests that the market is becoming highly competitive, with EV users happy to pay for quality, but avoiding networks which fail to provide a good charging experience.”

Top 10 charging networks in the UK

Click here for our guide to electric chargers.