Tesco, Pod Point and Volkwsagen have reached another major milestone in their electric car charging joint-venture.
Following the installation of new charging devices at the Kirkwall superstore in Orkney, EV chargers are now available at 600 Tesco supermarkets across the UK.
It makes for swift progress since the start of the partnership in 2019. Tesco now has 2,500 EV charging bays on offer, including 129 rapid chargers.
Rapid charging roll-out
Tesco customers have used a total of 43,218kWh of energy to date: enough electricity to power 4,000 homes for a whole day.
More six million charges have now taken place at Tesco stores, saving more than 24,000 tonnes of CO2.
The 600th store milestone also coincides with the roll-out of 75kW rapid chargers. This is the first time Pod Point has installed them at Tesco stores, complementing the existing 7kW, 22kW and 50kW units already in use.
Tesco stores in Cheshunt, Osterley, Shrewsbury, Ashby De La Zouch, York and Newark will be the first locations to gain the 75kWh devices.
Charging no longer free
When the Tesco project was first launched, the use of EV chargers was free to all customers. However, increasing demand – alongside higher energy prices – saw the introduction of tariffs late last year.
Customers making use of the new 75kWh chargers will need to pay 69p per kWh.
Jason Tarry, Tesco CEO for the UK and Ireland, said: “It is with great pride we announce that we have hit our target of providing EV charging at 600 stores across the UK. From Orkney all the way to Southampton, customers now have the option to make sustainable choices, and we’re giving them somewhere easy and convenient to charge while they shop with us.”
Sarah Cox, head of marketing at Volkswagen UK, added: “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 BEV and PHEV 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.”
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