British drivers have clocked up more than 10 million miles of free electric motoring on the UK’s biggest free charging network.

The partnership between Tesco, Volkswagen and Pod Point has been celebrated by the transport secretary Grant Shapps this week, after it was announced that the network had provided its 500,000 free charge.

The scheme is said to have reduced carbon emissions by 2,120 tonnes - the equivalent of 2,770 acres of forest.

“As we accelerate towards a cleaner and greener transport future, it’s great to see one of Britain’s most iconic household names leading the way with electric vehicle chargepoints,” Grant Shapps said of the scheme.

“In the time it takes to pick up the groceries, drivers up and down the country can now quickly and easily charge their cars and with £2½bn of government support to encourage their take-up, there has never been a better time to switch to an EV.”

Drivers in Slough have taken biggest advantage of the free electric charging, with the Tesco Extra being used more than 10,000 times.

With sales of electric vehicles rising by 185 per cent in 2020, the groundbreaking free-charging scheme could reach its one millionth charge sooner rather than later.

Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point Founder and CEO, added: "Reaching the 500,000 charges milestone is testament to the growing appetite for EVs as well as the ease and convenience of the charging experience.

“The partnership is making great strides towards our goal of delivering the nation’s largest retail EV charging network – one that is reliable, accessible, secure and free making it even easier for drivers to choose electric and accelerate adoption.

“We look forward to powering up even more local areas as we continue our roll out."

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