Tesco’s Kirkwall superstore in Scotland has become the 600th store in the UK to have EV charging points installed.
The installation at the store on the remote Scottish island of Orkney, is the culmination of a programme which has seen more than 2,500 EV charging bays installed at 600 stores of the UK’s largest retailer over the last three years.
The chargers have been used more than 6,000,000 times already saving more than 24,000 tonnes of CO2.
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Since Tesco, Volkswagen and Pod Point launched the network in 2019, the charging points have provided 43,218kWh of renewable energy to date – enough to power more than 4,000 homes for a whole day.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, at the end of February 2023 there were 693,307 battery-electric cars in the UK, an increase of 610% on the number of BEVs in 2019.
The 600th store milestone also coincides with the next phase of the Tesco EV charging network with Pod Point installing the retailers’ first set of 75kW charging units, to complement the existing 7kW, 22kW and 50kW units across the Tesco estate.
From this month customers shopping at the Tesco Cheshunt, Osterley, Shrewsbury, Ashby De La Zouch and York Extra stores, and at the Newark New Ollerton Superstore will be able to benefit from the new 75kW public rapid chargers.
A further six stores will be installed with 75kW units as part of the trial later this year.
“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 EV charging is a great milestone – and our work doesn’t stop there, as we’re now installing our first 75kW rapid chargers too,” Tesco UK CEO, Jason Tarry said.
Pod Point Founder and CEO, Erik Fairbairn, said: “Meeting the 600-store target is an awesome achievement and makes the Tesco rollout by far the UK’s biggest retail EV 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.
He added: “We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Tesco and Volkswagen, and with the contribution we’re making to the UK’s charging infrastructure.”
Head of Marketing at Volkswagen UK, Sarah Cox commented: “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.”
In November, Tesco dropped its free electric vehicle (EV) charging points as it began to charge drivers a set fee for using the charging points at all of its stores.
