A significant majority of senior UK charge point operators (CPOs) lack full trust in their current hardware mix. New research from the EV charging platform Monta reveals a growing confidence crisis in the infrastructure essential for the UK’s transition to electric vehicles.
Monta’s report, surveying over 200 senior UK CPO decision-makers, found that 62% are not fully confident their hardware can meet rising charging demands. This shocking figure highlights critical weaknesses in the current ecosystem. In contrast, only a mere 7% described themselves as “extremely confident” in their equipment’s capabilities.
Slow Maintenance is the Primary Threat to Uptime
The lack of UK EV Charging Hardware Confidence stems directly from reliability issues. The biggest threat to consistent charger uptime is delayed maintenance, cited by almost half of all CPO decision-makers (45%). Operators also struggle with technical problems including firmware errors, grid integration challenges, and data synchronization issues.
Monta’s Head of Market for UK & Ireland, Jon Evans, commented on the findings. “Our data shows this lack of confidence is driven by persistent reliability issues across the UK’s charge point ecosystem,” Evans said. He warned that the infrastructure shows “clear signs of strain,” which hampers scaling efforts and makes it difficult for CPOs to hit government-set reliability targets.
The Race Against Adoption
This infrastructure crisis arrives at a critical time. EV adoption in the UK is accelerating rapidly, with Chinese automaker BYD recently seeing UK sales jump by 880%. With the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars approaching, CPOs face intense pressure to deliver a reliable national charging network that can support this growth.
To overcome these obstacles, UK CPOs are calling for urgent changes in four key areas:
- Faster Technical Support and fault resolution (45% priority).
- Better Firmware Control and greater transparency (43% priority).
- Wider Use of Predictive Maintenance systems (40% priority).
- Improved Hardware–Software Interoperability (24% priority).
“EV adoption is accelerating faster than infrastructure can keep up and the pressure on CPOs is mounting,” Evans added. He noted that the next phase of the transition is not just about installing more chargers, but “ensuring every charger works, every time.”
Monta calls for collaboration across hardware manufacturers, network operators, and software providers. They must align around shared standards to empower CPOs with the tools and data needed to shift from firefighting existing problems to preventing them altogether. The reliability of the charging network is now an infrastructure crossroads that will ultimately shape consumer confidence and the credibility of the UK’s net zero timeline.
Access the Full Report
The survey explored decision-makers’ views and experiences of EV charging infrastructure software solutions, focusing on how these tools are selected, implemented and evaluated against operational requirements, user experience and future growth potential. Download the full report here.
