Pod Point has announced that its Open Charge app now has 40,000 users, up 273% from 14,631 in January 2017.

It represents almost 30% of all plug-in vehicles on the UK’s roads, which currently stands at 133,910, according to data provided by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The company has also experienced a 1,000 % increase in charge cycles per month on its rapid charger network since May and hailed the huge growth in usage of its public charging network as a sign of a market transitioning from niche to mainstream. 

Pod Point’s chief executive and founder Erik Fairbairn said: “In 2017 the world woke up to the fact that the future of transport is electric, and we’re seeing this reflected in the take-up of our app.

"In addition to this, we’ve always believed EV drivers want friction-free charging without the hassle of RFID cards and this kind of exponential growth is a sign that we’ve got that right.”

Pod Point plans to significantly expand its public charging network in 2018, with rapid chargers a key plank of its growth strategy.

Fairbairn said: “Every rapid charger we installed in 2017 is being well used, a sign of unsatisfied demand. We are expanding our network in line with this demand and in response to the usage trends that we have seen so far.”  

Other notable highlights include:

• The number of public charges on the network hit a new high of 22,000 in January, up from 8,072 12 months ago
• The frequency of charges per minute has increased three-fold over the same period, from 1.08 to 3.25
• The Open Charge app was downloaded more than 2,400 times in January alone, with Pod Point forecasting user numbers to double again by the end of 2018

Pod Point has now powered more than 83 million miles, saving more than 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.