Forty-four super electric vehicle chargers will be up and running at a busy motorway service station by the end of the month.

The mass installation at Moto Medway accelerated after KentOnline reported 24 charge points were sitting idle at the site off the M2 between Gillingham and Sittingbourne because of a lack of power.

The hold-up was sparked because of mistakes made by South Eastern Power Networks when applying for road closures to carry out the work, according to Medway Council.

To encourage drivers to switch to electric vehicles, the government has committed to restricting the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

A network of chargers is essential to keep vehicles on the move, but getting them fully operational is proving a challenge.

A spokesman for Moto said the logistics for installing them was “new territory”, but any problems revealed back in August had now been resolved.

At the time Nick Tatum, Moto Hospitality's chief customer officer, said: “Our Medway location is a prime example of the difficulties facing when it comes to securing power for UItra Rapid chargers for electric vehicles at our sites across the UK.

“This is due to delays we are experiencing with permits being granted by local authorities.

A spokesman for Moto said: “Forty-four Ultra Rapid Chargers will be available by the end of January 2024 at Moto’s Medway site, consisting of 10 GRIDSERVE chargers on both East (London-bound) and West (coast -bound), as well as 12 Tesla chargers on both East and West Medway”.

The fastest of these devices can add up to 100 miles of range to an electric vehicle's (EV) battery in around half an hour.

A spokeswoman for UK Power Networks said: “UK Power Networks is ready to energise an electricity connection to power new Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure at Moto Medway, following completion of our work on 17 December.

“We worked collaboratively with our customer and stakeholders to deliver 4km of new cabling as quickly as possible, while minimising local traffic disruption.

“This investment project was funded by UK Power Networks’ £66m Green Recovery programme, which is delivering low carbon energy projects across the South East, London and East of England.

“The programme is supporting the Government’s 10-point plan for the UK’s green industrial revolution including EV uptake, reduction in carbon emissions and improving local air quality.”

At the beginning of this year, it was reported that a government target for at least six rapid or ultra-rapid chargers near motorways in England by the end of 2023 had been missed, according to data compiled from Zapmap, the charger locator service.

The figures released by the RAC did not tally with information from motorway service station operators, including Moto which has 59 sites across the UK.