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Zap-Map, the UK’s leading electric vehicle (EV) mapping service, has released its annual electric vehicle charging network satisfaction rankings.
The much-anticipated league table ranks the UK’s most popular EV charging networks based on data from its annual survey of Zap-Map’s community of EV drivers.
The results, based on a sample of more than 1,500 Zap-Map users, show that Tesla retains its top spot as the country’s most appreciated EV charging provider. The network received the highest ranking, with one driver describing Tesla’s service as ‘the standard all networks should aspire to’.
In second place overall is InstaVolt, which retains its spot for the third year running. One InstaVolt fan commented that the network is ‘modern, super reliable, generally come in pairs’, adding that contactless payment ‘is a huge plus’.
In third place, and greatly improving on its 2019 ranking, is Osprey (formerly Engenie) which scores highly for its reliability and ease of use. One Osprey user said the network’s services are ‘nice and visible, good locations, simple to use’.
‘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.’
DR BEN LANE
Co-founder and CTO at Zap-Map
This year’s survey rates 16 charging providers which are ranked from a maximum of 5.0 stars down to the lowest ranking of 2.0 stars.
For those networks which EV drivers use regularly, respondents were asked to rate their overall satisfaction (using a 5-point Likert scale), and also their level of satisfaction in four key areas: reliability, ease of use, cost and facilities.
Compared with the previous ranking survey, this year’s movers and shakers are Osprey (formerly Engenie), which leap-frogged five places to take 3rd place; bp pulse (formerly BP Chargemaster/ Polar) which dropped 5th to 13th place and Swarco E.connect which entered the list for the first time in a strong 5th position.
In contrast, at the bottom of the table, Ecotricity’s Electric Highway network was ranked with the lowest score. One user commented that ‘they are out of date and unreliable, with a monopoly on motorway site locations’ – a sentiment that resonates with many other Zap-Map users who rely on rapid charging at motorway services for longer journeys across the UK.
As part of the survey, EV drivers were also asked to rank the most important factors when choosing a charge point.
Reliability remained the key factor (weighting 5.0), followed by ease of use (2.6), cost (2.3) and finally the local amenities at the charging location (1.0).
These weightings demonstrate the continuing importance of reliability and ease of use for EV drivers when accessing charging services.
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