Tesco has achieved its target of 600 stores with charging points. Subscribe to Electric Vehicle News Bitesize Podcast for FREE to hear more!
Tesco’s Kirkwall supermarket is the 600th store in the UK to install an electric vehicle charging station. Since Tesco, Volkswagen and Pod Point launched the network in 2019, the charging stations have so far provided 43,218 kWh of energy – enough to power more than 4,000 homes for a full day.
The store installation on the remote Scottish island of Orkney is the culmination of a program that has installed more than 2,500 electric vehicle charging points in 600 Tesco stores across the UK over the past three years – all electricity for charging the car comes from renewable resources. The network also includes 129 fast charging stations.
The partnership was announced to improve charging infrastructure as the UK prepares for an electric future. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, there were 693,307 pure electric vehicles in the UK by the end of February 2023, a 610% increase on the number of pure electric vehicles in 2019.
Tesco has partnered with Volkswagen and Pod Point to build the UK’s largest retail Electric Vehicle charging network, giving Electric Vehicle drivers a place to charge their cars while shopping.
The chargers have been used more than 6,000,000 times and have saved more than 24,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
Jason Tarry, Tesco UK CEO, said:
“From Orkney all the way to Southampton, we’re helping customers to make sustainable choices by giving them somewhere easy and convenient to charge while they shop with us. Hitting our target of 600 stores with Electric Vehicle charging is a great milestone, and our work doesn’t stop there, as we’re now installing our first 75kW rapid chargers too.”
Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point Founder and CEO, said:
“Meeting the 600-store target is an awesome achievement and makes the Tesco rollout by far the UK’s biggest retail Electric Vehicle charging network. Since 2019, we’ve been giving drivers the confidence to go electric with a secure, reliable and accessible way to top up while they shop. We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Tesco and Volkswagen, and with the contribution we’re making to the UK’s charging infrastructure.”
Sarah Cox, Head of Marketing at Volkswagen UK, said:
“We’re really proud of this partnership with Tesco and Pod Point, which has always been about providing sustainable charging access and infrastructure to all Battery Electric and Plug in Hybrid Electric vehicle owners in the UK. Hitting the 600-store milestone means that we are continuing to support as many people as possible to make the switch to electric mobility.”
Charge points are available to owners of EVs from all Electric Vehicle manufacturers. Drivers simply download the Pod Point app, connect the charger and confirm charging.
The 600th store milestone also coincides with the next phase of Tesco’s Electric Vehicle charging network, with Pod Point installing the retailer’s first 75kW charging units on a trial basis, complementing existing 7kW, 22kW and adding to Tesco locations 50kW unit.
From this month, customers shopping at Tesco Cheshunt, Osterley, Shrewsbury, Ashby De La Zouch and York Extra stores, as well as the Newark New Ollerton Superstore can use the new 75kW public fast chargers. A further six branches with 75kW units will be installed later this year as part of the trial.
The range of charging speeds caters to the different charging needs of customers, from those looking for an easy top-up to drivers needing a full charge. The 75kW is sold at 69 pence per kWh.
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