Fastned comes out top in Zapmap’s EV charging network survey
Charge point mapping service Zapmap has released its annual satisfaction rankings for high-powered, ‘en-route’ public charging networks in the UK with Fastned coming in first place.
Now in its sixth year, the league table derives from Zapmap’s annual EV charging survey, conducted during October 2023. The survey saw responses from more than 4,000 electric car drivers.
This year, for the first time, Zapmap has produced two sets of network rankings, in order to better account for the difference in scale and operation between those predominantly focused on rapid or en-route charging, and those which are mainly supporting the rollout of on-street or destination chargers.
For this year’s 2023-24 rankings, Zapmap is again awarding a ‘Best EV Charging Network’ accreditation to the top scorer, with the others in the top five also receiving an ‘EV Driver Recommended’ title.
As part of the survey, respondents rated their overall satisfaction for the networks they use regularly, which is then used to rank each network out of a maximum of five stars. They also rated their level of satisfaction with the networks in five key areas: reliability, ease of use, customer support, value for money, and payment options.
In first place this year is the distinctive Fastned network, which provides high-power charging hubs with multiple devices at each location. Fastned scored particularly highly for the reliability and ease of use of its charging network, and secures this year’s ‘Best EV Charging Network’ badge.
In second and third place respectively this year are MFG EV Power and Osprey Charging, two networks also focusing on rolling out high-speed charging hubs at a national level. The two networks earn the ‘EV Driver Recommended’ title for the 2023-24 rankings, alongside Ionity and InstaVolt, which take fourth and fifth place respectively.
The league table illustrates Zapmap users’ most popular ‘en-route’ public charging networks in the UK. These operators predominantly offer high-powered charging devices, catering to drivers looking to charge up as quickly as possible during longer journeys.
Says Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-founder & COO at Zapmap:
“This year has seen continued growth in the number of new electric cars registered, and in parallel significant growth in the charging infrastructure that many drivers depend upon.
“The results of our annual EV survey highlight that for many EV drivers availability and reliability of chargers remain a concern. That’s exactly why these rankings and our ‘Best EV Charging Network’ accreditations are important. They provide feedback directly from EV drivers and act as a solid indication of which networks are more dependable.
“Splitting the rankings into two categories reflects the growing nature of the market, with many more players and more specialisation, so it makes sense to compare similar networks.
“Going forward we hope that all the charge point networks will continue to focus on providing both more chargers and a reliable, easy-to-use charging experience for EV drivers.”
