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Tesco has announced it has expanded its free electric vehicle (EV) charging network to 500 stores nationwide, with Inverness Extra marking the 500th store as the network boosts local infrastructure.
The announcement comes as usage over the chargers has surged by 300% over the past year. Free charging sessions on the network increased from 500,000 in April 2021 to more than two million by the end of February.
Additionally, Tesco’s network of more than 1,000 chargers in the UK also now includes 100 rapid chargers.
Other areas to have benefitted from improved charging access include Southend-on-Sea, Bolton, Wirral, Walsall and Port Talbot.
Since Tesco, Volkswagen and Pod Point launched the network in 2019, the charging points have provided more than 41 million miles of free electric driving to motorists. Tesco said this is the equivalent to travelling from Earth to the moon and back 85 times.
As the network only uses renewable energy, this represents a saving of 8,786 tonnes of CO2 compared with travelling the same distance in a typical car with an internal combustion engine.
Jason Tarry, CEO at Tesco UK and ROI, said: “We’re thrilled to see the rollout of free EV charging at our retail stores gather pace. 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.”
Trudy Harrison, Transport minister, added: “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 £2.5bn to support the rollout 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.”
