Credit: Vauxhall
New partnership to provide customers who purchase a Vauxhall EV with a year's worth of free charging at Tesco stores
Vauxhall has this week announced a new offer to provide customers who purchase an electric car or van direct from one of its retailers with one year's free charging credit at 2,700 charging bays at Tesco stores nationwide.
Powered by leading provider Pod Point, Tesco offers what it claims is the country's largest supermarket charging network, comprising a mix of 7kW, 22kW, 50kW, and 75kW units at 619 stores.
With millions of visitors per month and over 3.8 million charging sessions per year, Tesco stores are found within a 10-minute drive for more than 70 per cent of the UK population, Vauxhall said.
The auto company's new partnership with Tesco comes as part of its 'Electric Streets of Britain' initiative to address the lack of on-street charging in the UK, as highlighted by research that found over 70 per cent of councils surveyed did not have a published strategy in place for residential on-street charging, while 69 per cent had yet to install any units.
"As electric vehicle sales continue to grow, access to practical charging continues to be a hot topic to ensure the UK can continue along its electrification journey, whether at home, on-street or at a required destination," said James Taylor, managing director for Vauxhall.
"In partnership with Tesco, Vauxhall is continuing to support electric vehicle drivers across the country, offering free charging for any new Vauxhall customer visiting a Tesco store.
"We're committed to electrifying Britain and helping UK motorists to make the switch to electric. We are excited to begin working with Tesco and look forward to seeing the UK's charging network grow, allowing even more convenient charging solutions for drivers to make their day-to-day journeys."
Clare Gregorio, head of retail partnerships at Tesco, said the supermarket wanted to encourage customers to make sustainable choices, such as moving to electric vehicles.
"We're committed to reducing carbon emissions across our business, including becoming carbon neutral across our own operations by 2035," she said.
"That's why we're delighted to partner with Vauxhall in providing the UK's largest supermarket EV charging network, making it easy and convenient for our customers to top up their electric cars while they shop with us."
The announcement follows the launch this week of an eight-week government consultation on plans to ease rules around the installation of heat pumps and EV chargers in England in a bid to boost uptake of clean energy technologies.
The consultation sets out plans to ease rules governing where electric car chargers can be placed within off-street parking areas for offices, supermarkets, or blocks of flats and includes a proposal to scrap restrictions preventing charges being located within two metres of a highway.
Don't forget to get your entries in for this year's UK Green Business Awards ahead of the March 1st deadline.
