Volkswagen Partners With U.K. Grocer Tesco for Electric-Vehicle Charging Network

By Adam Clark

Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) is partnering with British supermarket chain Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) to rollout the U.K.'s largest electric-vehicle charging network at retail sites.

The companies said Friday that over the next three years they will install more than 2,400 charging bays across 600 Tesco stores. Customers will be able to charge their cars for free via a standard charger, or pay for a faster service.

Volkswagen said the plan would support its target of selling one million electric cars a year by 2025. The BBC reported that the German car manufacturer has sold 1,350 electric cars in the U.K. since launching two electric vehicle models four years ago.

Volkswagen is launching its ID. family of all-electric models in the U.K. in 2019.

Volkswagen and Tesco's plan represents a 14% increase in the number of public-charge bays in the U.K., according to Pod Point, the British electric-vehicle infrastructure company which will carry out the installations.

Figures released earlier this month by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed new registrations of electric vehicles, including hybrid models, came to 121,577 or 5.9% of the total market in 2018 to date. The British government has said it aims to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040.

In addition to car makers, oil companies are also readying themselves for mass adoption of electric vehicles. BP PLC (BP.LN) earlier this year bought Chargemaster, the U.K.'s largest electric-vehicle charging company for 130 million pounds ($166.4 million), after Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA.LN) bought its Dutch peer NewMotion in 2017.

Write to Adam Clark at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 30, 2018 05:39 ET (10:39 GMT)

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