UK retailer Tesco has expanded its free electric vehicle-charging network to 500 stores, with the Tesco Extra outlet in Inverness becoming the 500th store.
In addition to Inverness, other areas that will benefit from the expansion include Southend-on-Sea, Bolton, Wirral, Walsall and Port Talbot.
The use of the charging points at Tesco has surged by 300% over the past year, as customers see it as a bonus while shopping, the retailer noted.
Free charging sessions across Tesco’s network increased from 500,000 in April 2021 to more than two million by the end of February 2022.
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Jason Tarry, CEO at Tesco UK & ROI, commented, “The network is helping customers visiting Tesco who need to save time and charge while they shop.
“This latest milestone highlights the commitment across the business to our goal of carbon neutrality in the UK by 2035.”
In 2019, Tesco introduced charging points in association with Volkswagen and Pod Point.
Since then, it has provided more than 41 million miles of free electric driving to motorists, or the equivalent of travelling from Earth to the moon and back 85 times.
‘Switch To Electric Vehicles’
UK transport minister Trudy Harrison said, “It gives me great pride to see leading companies coming together to bolster the UK’s switch to electric vehicles.
“This government has already committed £2.5 billion to support the roll-out of EVs across the country, and we will shortly be launching an ambitious infrastructure strategy, setting out our plans to deliver a world-class public charging network.”
Tesco’s electric vehicle-charging network relies on renewable energy and has, so far, prevented 8,786 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
This number is almost the equivalent of the CO2 absorbed by 900,000 trees in a year, Tesco added.
The network comprises more than 1,000 chargers at 500 Tesco supermarkets in the UK, including 100 rapid chargers.
The 7kW chargers and 22kW chargers are free to use, while the 50kW rapid chargers are available for what the retailer describes as a ‘competitive rate’.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
