Pod Point celebrates 600th Tesco store milestone
Posted by Roseanne: Mar 16, 2023 • 3 min read
We’re delighted to announce that we have installed EV chargepoints at 600 Tesco stores across the UK.
Our partnership with Tesco and Volkswagen has been running for over three years, resulting in the largest retail electric vehicle charging network in the UK, giving EV drivers a place to top up their cars while doing their shopping.
The UK’s largest retail charging network has provided customers with electric charging for the last three years. This month, we celebrated the 600 store milestone at Tesco’s Kirkwall superstore on the remote Scottish island of Orkney.
Since the rollout commenced in July 2019, more than 2,500 chargepoints have been installed across 600 Tesco stores in the UK. The network also includes 129 rapid chargers.
The network continues to be popular with shoppers, seeing the chargepoints being used 6,000,000 times, saving more than 24,000 tonnes of CO2. The chargepoints have also provided 43,218MWh of energy to date - that’s enough to power more than 4,000 homes for an entire day!
Owners of electric cars made by any EV manufacturer can use our charging points. Drivers just need to download the Pod Point App, plug in the charger and confirm their charge. Contactless is available on all rapid chargers.
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 chargepoints, on a trial basis, to complement the existing 7kW, 22kW and 50kW chargerpoints 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 chargers as part of the trial later this year.
Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point Founder and CEO, 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. We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Tesco and Volkswagen, and with the contribution we’re making to the UK’s charging infrastructure.”
Jason Tarry, Tesco UK CEO, said: “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.”
Sarah Cox, Head of Marketing at Volkswagen UK, said: “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.”
Where can I find Tesco stores with EV charging?
You can stay up to date with the latest additions to the Tesco rollout on our dedicated page below.
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