The number of electric vehicle (EV) charge points at UK supermarkets has almost doubled in the last two years, research shows.
Some 542 EV charger units were installed by supermarkets from the end of October 2017 to the end of 2019, according to data analysed by Zap-Map and the Royal Automobile Club (RAC).
According to the research which was conducted by the charging point platform and the British automotive services company, this brings the total of EV chargers at UK supermarket sites to 1,115 – a growth of 95% during the period.
This means 6.5% of all the UK’s public charge points are located at supermarkets with growth in-line with the overall growth of public charge points.
Between 2017 and 2019, 313 stores added chargers with, on average, two charging units being installed per site.
Store Breakdown
When looking at each supermarket’s store portfolios Asda has the greatest proportion of locations where an EV can be charged – 122 of its 633 sites (19%).
The data showed that Morrisons is in second spot with EV charging available at 89 of its 494 stores (18%), while Waitrose comes in third place with 14% – 49 of 349 stores.
While Tesco currently only has 4% of stores with charging capability, it has highest total number of stores with charging facilities (142 of 3,961 stores).
Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder of the UK’s leading charging point platform Zap-Map, said: “With 89% of EV drivers taking the availability of charge points into account when selecting their parking, providing charging can be a real differentiator locally in the competitive supermarket sector."
"This seems to be recognised by some supermarkets, notably Tesco and Sainsbury’s, providing EV charging for free,” she added.
© 2020 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
