Shoppers at one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains have been taking advantage of free electric vehicle charging, with enough energy used to power the homes of 130,000 people.

Tesco boast their network of free charging facilities now stretches to 200 stores, following their most recent installation of four EV chargers at a store in Chester.

Though the partnership is with Tesco, Pod Point and Volkswagen, the chargers can be used by EV owners of all car brands, and the chargers have been used 150,000 times in the 18 months that the initiative has been running.

The carbon savings on those 150,000 visits equate to a saving of 374,391kg of tailpipe CO2 emissions - or 1.8 million miles driven by a conventional car engine.

“We’re now well on our way to achieving our ambition of installing more than 2,400 EV charging bays across 600 Tesco stores,” said Tesco CEO, Jadon Tarry.

“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.”

Tesco have been joined by McDonalds in providing free EV charging facilities, while many of the UK’s biggest shopping outlets have also committed to providing free charging points.

Recent analysis by Anderson revealed the growth of EV chargers, particularly in homes is expected to grow by 350,000 in the next five years.

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