Tesla has reached the half-century for Supercharger locations in the UK, with the 50-strong network taking the number of individual Tesla electric car charging points up to 320.
The news follows the announcement of its 400th European location: there are now more than 3,200 Tesla Superchargers operating in Europe, which it says facilitated 70,000 long-distance cross-border trips in 2017 alone.
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It’s a pretty fast rate of growth for the Tesla Supercharger network, which was opened with the installation of the first European charge point in Norway five years ago. There are now 23 European countries operating Supercharger points; the most recent is the eight-bay UK site at Scotch Corner on the A1M.
Superchargers are located on major roads and the firm points out it’s actually expanded some sites to meet growing demand. Hopwood Park on the M42 in Birmingham has grown from six to 16 Superchargers, for example, and Tesla complemented the existing Bristol Cribbs Causeway site with an additional one nearby at Gordano Services on the M5.
Jeff Allan is a Model S owner who, says Tesla, recently demonstrated how extensive the UK network is – by driving from Lands End to John O’Groats. “We took turns at driving between Superchargers,” he explained.
“The long range of the Tesla meant that there was no need for additional stops: when we reached the next supercharger, we inevitably needed a break for food, drink and so on.” Range anxiety, in short, simply wasn’t a factor.
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Although Tesla still sees most owners recharging either at home or at work (Tesla Wall Chargers generally charge at the rate of 22 miles an hour, but can be upped to 34 miles or even 51 miles an hour), the Superchargers come into their own for long-distance travel, hence their location on major routes. A 30-minute charge adds 170 miles of range.
The U.S. car firm also points out that all directly-acquired energy for the European Supercharger network is generated from clean energy such as solar and wind power – saving 92 million litres of fuel and offsetting 200,000 tonnes of CO2.