The 200th Tesco store has installed free electric vehicle charge points

A collaboration between Volkswagen, Pod Point and Tesco has seen the retailer’s 200th store able to offer free electric vehicle charging.

The companies are working together to offer free charging to shoppers at locations across the country, with the latest being the Chester superstore.

According to the organisations, the previously installed charge points have given away enough renewable energy to power more than 55,000 homes for 24 hours. In the 18 months since the scheme was launched, chargers have been used 150,000 times and provided a combined 669 megawatts of power.

Sarah Cox, head of marketing for Volkswagen UK, said: “It’s fantastic that we’ve reached another milestone in our partnership with Tesco and Pod Point. There are now 200 stores with chargers that drivers of any electric vehicle can use for free.

“As the partnership continues, and more stores roll out new chargers, we are really proud to be breaking down barriers to EV ownership and demonstrating to people that living with an EV is easy.”

Jason Tarry, Tesco CEO for UK and ROI, said: “We’re now well on our way to achieving our ambition of installing more than 2,400 EV charging bays across 600 Tesco stores.

“The 200th store is a landmark moment as we get back up and running with this programme after the Covid-19 pandemic meant we had to delay our plans.

“Providing customers with charging points offers them a sustainable choice and giving them the opportunity to charge their car for free while they shop is a little help to make this easier.”

The scheme is said to be looking at locations that have poor access to chargers, with installations in Barnsley, Wirral and Wellingborough previously having fewer than 10 chargers per 100,000 people.