Over half of councils in the United Kingdom still do not provide a single electric vehicle charging point on residential streets, according to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the carmaker Vauxhall, even as the overall public charging network continues to expand.
The request found that more than 90 per cent of UK councils now have at least one public charger installed somewhere in their area. But 50 per cent of councils still offer no residential charging for EV drivers who live on roads without driveways and have to park on the street.
Vauxhall said the figure marks an improvement on 2023, when 66 per cent of councils had no residential street charger at all. Even so, the company said it highlights the continued need to make sure drivers without driveways are not left behind as the UK moves toward electric vehicles.
There are now more than 2.18 million electric vehicles on UK roads. Forty per cent of drivers live in properties without off-street parking, meaning they have no way to charge a car at home unless a charger is installed on their street.
Has Britain's EV network expanded?
More than 50,000 public EV charging points have been added to the UK's network since the end of 2023, according to the latest figures from the public charging app Zapmap. The total number of public charging points available to drivers now stands at just over 122,000, which works out at around 18 vehicles for every charger in public places across the country.
However, few of these new chargers have gone into residential areas. Vauxhall's research found that 39 per cent of councils overall now have on-street charging available, up from 31 per cent in 2023.
Funding deadline and council policies
The growth in installations has been helped in part by councils streamlining their own processes around EV infrastructure. The Government also provides dedicated grant funding and local authority schemes to support on-street and cross-pavement charging, though that funding is due to run out in March.
On-street chargers make up 32 per cent of the UK's public charging network, but 2025 brought encouraging signs for drivers without private charging, with more than 55 per cent of new installations being on-street. On-street installations peaked in 2025, with 78 councils installing at least one on-street charging point during the year.
Regional disparity remains a concern, however. More than 70 per cent of all on-street chargers installed across the country up to the end of 2025 are located in London alone.
Vauxhall's figures also show that 32 per cent of councils now have a published strategy for on-street residential charging, while 46 per cent have a dedicated policy officer for EV charging. That is a rise of 15 percentage points compared with 2023, when 31 per cent of councils had someone in that role.
Vauxhall's Electric Streets of Britain campaign
The research was published as Vauxhall enters the fourth year of its Electric Streets of Britain initiative, which launched in 2023 to help the 40 per cent of drivers without access to a driveway find practical ways to charge their electric vehicles.
Vauxhall is a British carmaker and one of the country's longest-established motor manufacturers, now owned by the Stellantis group alongside brands including Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat.
Eurig Druce, Vauxhall's managing director, said the continued rollout of EV charging infrastructure was essential to giving drivers the confidence to switch to electric vehicles.
"It's encouraging to see that more than 90 per cent of UK councils now have at least one public charger in their area, but the focus must now be on ensuring the right chargers are installed in the right places to best meet the needs of motorists," Druce said.
"For the millions of households without access to off-street parking, on-street charging remains critical," he added.
