The UK EV charging sector can deliver £15.5 billion in direct value to the economy by 2035, according to a new report.
The report by industry analysts LCP Delta also shows that the wider EV sector has the potential to be worth £385 billion to the UK over the decade, as manufacturing of EVs and batteries, servicing and retail grows.
The 12,000+ EV charging jobs which exist today can scale to 35,700, which doubles to 71,500 including induced and across the industry’s nationwide supply chain. The sector can also enable 334,000 jobs across the EV sector, including automotive and battery manufacturing, retail and servicing.
LCP Delta’s report ‘Powering a decade of growth: the economic impact of UK EV charging’, commissioned by charging industry association ChargeUK, provides analysis on the EV transition’s critical ten years ahead, charting the charging sector’s 2025-2035 pathway to profitability and its maturity into a major employer and economic force.
The report find that the industry spent £587 million in infrastructure capital in 2025 as it continued to invest ahead of demand and pre-profitability. This figure is expected to reach £8.4 billion over the decade and the analysis indicates the industry could attract £30 billion in external investment as margins improve and assets increase in value.
Supplementary to LCP Delta’s report, which is based on the analysts’ forecasts assuming current government policy with no further changes to the ZEV Mandate (which sets EV sales quotas), a survey of ChargeUK’s members sheds light on the conditions required to unlock this economic opportunity.
The automotive sector is currently calling for more changes to the ZEV mandate, further to the flexibilities introduced and extended in 2025. The mandate is currently under consideration as part of a planned review due to conclude in early 2027. The survey asked about how changes would affect investment over the next five years – especially critical as the charging sector navigates to profitability and the UK reaches its 2030 deadline for 80 per cent sales of electric cars.
Charge point operators’ responses show that investment could halve - a potential reduction of up to £2 billion in capital expenditure on infrastructure rollout- with a knock-on impact on the UK’s ability to seize the £385bn transport electrification prize.
However, if action is taken to address the cost of public EV charging, including VAT equalisation with home charging and relief from fixed energy costs—which would also improve operator margins and utilisation rates—then operators’ responses indicated an investment upside of as much as £5.7 billion in the same period. This is an opportunity to supercharge the transition not only with greater infrastructure investment but lower driver prices leading to increased EV adoption.
A strengthening of the ZEV mandate, such as reversing the flexibilities which were introduced in 2025 allowing for manufacturers to borrow credits and sell more plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, has the potential to accelerate charging investment by 40 per cent in the next five years.
Vicky Read, chief executive, ChargeUK said: “The EV charging sector is already a British success story with more than 1.7 million chargers, including over 120,000 on the public network. This is the infrastructure that has made the sale of two million EVs possible.
“This new report shows that this success is just the start. There is a huge jobs and growth opportunity ahead, not just for our sector but for EV charging as a foundation for a globally competitive automotive industry, for a secure energy system, and for transport choices that deliver cheaper, cleaner driving. But the industry, which is pre-profit, is at an inflection point. Upcoming policy decisions are pivotal in determining whether it can deliver that growth."
Minister for Climate Katie White OBE, said: “Just as the invention of the steam train wouldn't have happened much without the pioneers who painstakingly laid the tracks across the country, across bridges, across fens, and three mountains, the work you have done to spread our charging infrastructure across the country to a point where we now have over 120,000 has been absolutely immense. And just like those railroad builders, your contribution to transforming our economy and helping us show the way for the rest of the world.
"The ZEV mandate is still a core framework to provide the long-term certainty and investment support that the industry needs, and we're regularly holding constructive conversations with industry on how to overcome delivery challenges. And while you help support the expansion of charging infrastructure, we're driving demand and improving affordability with the electric car grant."
Image shows Minister for Climate Katie White OBE at the launch of the report.
