What Do EV Drivers Think of The Mer Public EV Charging Experience, in 2023?

We surveyed EV drivers to learn about their public EV charging experience throughout 2023; asking questions to improve the all-round experience with Mer's charging network.

Young people charging electric vehicle at charger

2023 saw the electric vehicle (EV) market flourish. At the end of 2022, there were over 660,000 battery-electric vehicles registered in the UK. One year on, at the end of 2023, this figure rose to a staggering 975,000.

Last year was also a notable year for EV charging infrastructure; as the number of EVs on UK roads increased across the year, the number of charge points expanded significantly. In October, the UK reached the 50,000 public charging point milestone, whilst December saw us hit 10,000 rapid and ultra-rapid charging devices across 5,000 locations. To date, there are now over 53,900 public charging devices across the UK.

In October 2023, Mer surveyed EV drivers who use our public EV charging network, to find out how our drivers use our network and understand more about their charging experience with us. In this blog, we explore the key findings of the survey, including:

Charging habits and usage
Preferred payment methods
Satisfaction with Mer charge points

Habits and Usage

60% of drivers used a public charging station over 10 times in 2023

The majority of survey respondents charged on a public EV charge point in 2023, and 23% had charged on a Mer charge point. Whilst installing home charger is a good option for those who have a driveway or access to off-street parking, these figures highlight the public EV charging network remains essential. As research from Lloyds Bank found, 44% of UK homes are unsuitable for charging an electric vehicle (EV) as they lack off-road parking.

How do drivers prefer to pay for their EV charging?

On the Mer network, drivers can benefit from a range of payment methods when using our charge points: via our mobile app, using our driver portal and map, with their Mer charge card, via our roaming partners or contactless payment.

In 2022, the app appeared to be the preferred method of payment, with 56% respondents stating the Mer app is their favourite method, closely followed by contactless payment. This was replicated in 2023, with 52% of respondents expressing the app as their preferred method of payment and 34% answering contactless payment.

The Mer Network

89% of respondents would be happy to use Mer’s services again

72% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience of charging with Mer overall. 69% of respondents find our chargers reliable, and above 57% are satisfied with charging speed, whilst 76% find the information on Mer public charge points helpful.

89% of respondents would be happy to use Mer’s services again.

Customer Service

Mer’s customer service team support our drivers via telephone, email, and through our app.

Whilst only 26% of survey respondents have been in touch with our customer service team, 70% were satisfied or very satisfied with the solution presented to them by the customer service team. Via phone was the most popular method of contacting our team (65%).

We always thrive to offer the best customer service and are regularly monitoring and working to improve our services. Our helpline is available 24/7.

Location of charge points

The most popular answers to the question of the most convenient charge point location were on route to a destination at a rapid charger (50%) and close to my home or work (30%).

How can the charging experience be improved?

At Mer, we constantly strive to improve our public charging network in line with customer trends, technological improvements and accessibility requirements.

55% of drivers want to see more chargers, with a faster charging speed (18%) and a single method of payment (20%). Together, these factors suggest simplicity of charging is important for EV drivers, where high-powered chargers are in abundance and readily available, and the payment process is uncomplicated.