EV Charging: The Balancing Act

The Balancing Act

The UK’s rapid and ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging network is expanding fast — but creating a viable network which is sustainable for the long term depends on delivering a seamless experience for drivers and stronger commercial performance for operators. In the past, CPOs rolled out charging sites ahead of EV adoption, driven by a race to secure prime locations. However now, the “build it and they will come” era has passed.

This is the balancing act: to build networks that are both commercially sustainable – and trusted by drivers. This whitepaper explores this balancing act in detail. It champions the ambition and resilience of UK CPOs, highlights the pressures they face, and reflects the expectations of today’s drivers. It also looks ahead to the next stage of growth — one requiring not just more chargers, but also next generation charging technology.

Key Research Findings

Petalite’s research with public Charge Point Operators (CPOs) leading the UK’s rapid network rollout, and with EV drivers who depend on it, reveals an industry striving to balance ambitious growth with a sharper focus on performance.

Despite more than 17,734 rapid and ultra-rapid chargers now installed nationwide, reliability, cost pressures, and utilisation remain the key challenges on the road to sustainable growth.

Driver Perspectives

700 EV drivers across the UK were surveyed about their vehicle usage, charging habits and experiences of using the UK's rapid/ultra-rapid charging network providing a number of key insights...

Drivers remain frustrated

• In the last year 54% of EV drivers report queuing occasionally or very often for a rapid charger, while 48% occasionally or very often encountered out-of-service units; respondents ranked both as key frustrations.
• Affordability is also a persistent pain point, with 40% naming high charging prices as their number one frustration.

Loyalty is earned at the charger

• While most drivers have a preferred CPO, their loyalty is in response to the quality of the hardware. Loyalty is function-led rather than brand-led.
• Charging speed (62%), reliability (56%), ease of use (56%), and availability (43%) are all factors that encourage repeat use.

No 1 improvement for drivers was availability

• The biggest improvement drivers want to see focuses on availability. Despite the speedy rollout of rapid/ultra-rapid charging drivers can still find it difficult to "pull up and plug in."

Speed is a top priority

• For those who have a preferred network (93%), charging speed is the main reason for their loyalty.
• Nearly seven in 10 (68%) drivers prefer to use a faster charger even if they have to wait; only 19% would opt for slower charging if there was no queue.

CPO Perspectives

Drawing on independent, in-depth interviews with key decision-makers at UK CPOs installing and operating rapid/ultra-rapid DC chargers, our research reveals the key factors shaping the current landscape...

Focus on quality, not just quantity

• CPOs are committed to scaling their rapid/ultra-rapid networks, but the 'land grab' era is over. Today operators are focused on site quality as much as quantity.
  

Energy-based utilisation is key to profitability

• In an environment of heightened investor and lender scrutiny, improving financial performance will be critical to securing the capital needed to sustain rapid network expansion.
• All CPOs surveyed are targeting positive EBITDA between now and 2028.
  
• 63% of CPOs highlight energy-based utilisation as their top metric for site performance
• CPOs also believe energy-based utilisation is the most important factor for improving site EBITDA and ROI over the next 2-5 years, underlining its importance.

Operational pressures and headwinds

• Rapid/ultra-rapid charging infrastructure continues to expand ambitiously to give drivers confidence in network availability, but operators are now approaching growth with a sharper focus on performance and profitability. But as networks scale, expansion can be slowed by a complex mix of challenges.
• CPOs report various operational challenges such as site development complexity, regulation, cable theft, system communication and connectivity, as well as hardware failures.
• Grid connection delays, planning friction, and rising energy costs are also key issues. In particular, grid constraints were identified as one of the biggest challenges, with 75% of CPOs saying they had to delay or cancel site projects due to grid constraints or DNO issues.

The Way Forward: Distributed Architecture

The next stage of growth — requires not just more chargers, but also next-generation charging technology.

• There is broad consensus that next-generation distributed charging architecture with dynamic power management offers the most effective path forward over the next two to five years.
• By intelligently balancing power across bays, it enables consistent charging speeds, maximises site utilisation, and minimises wait times — directly addressing the three things that drivers value most: speed, reliability, and availability
• Electric vehicles themselves are evolving. CPOs need to serve an increasingly diverse range of models, while ensuring a consistent, reliable charging experience across every bay. New EV models with larger batteries and higher charging capability are raising driver expectations of what public networks should deliver.
• CPOs told us they typically plan for chargers to remain in place for 10-15 years, it's therefore vital to future proof hardware.
• Over the next 5-10 years, there will be a significant increase in the spectrum of EV charging capabilities. For example, new EV models that will launch from 2026 range from the affordable Dacia Spring (maximum charge speed of 40kW) through to the likes of the BYD Denza Z9 GT (maximum charge speed of 1MW).

• Futureproofing charging infrastructure is therefore critical - sites built around flexible, modular architectures can scale to meet demand from a wide mix of charging needs, protect ROI and maximise site throughput as vehicle technology evolves.

Summary

Public charging in the UK is at a pivotal point. Driver expectations are clear, operator ambitions are high, and operational pressure combined with industry headwinds are slowing progress. The decisions made now — about technology, site strategy, and policy — will define not only the commercial success of CPOs, but also the pace of the UK’s EV transition.

As Petalite’s research shows, CPOs are already embracing distributed architecture with dynamic power management as the cornerstone of future network design. It is a solution that maximises site utilisation, transforms profitability, and answers drivers’ core needs of speed, reliability, availability, and ease of use.

Petalite’s patented SDC technology demonstrates how this can be achieved in practice: high-power performance, scalable hubs, and built-in redundancy to ensure reliability at both the physical and digital level.