Waitrose customers in up to 150 stores across the country will have access to electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities by early 2013.
Starting off with four bays each at its Eastbourne, Chichester and Wimborne (UK) stores in the coming weeks, the initiative will ensure the retailer can serve the growing number of electric vehicles.
As part of the Polar scheme, Waitrose can link into a nationwide infrastructure, which provides charging points at home, the office and at other public and commercial amenities.
Diana Hunter, director of store development at Waitrose, said: “We’re delighted to be making such a large scale commitment. Currently, the vast majority of electric charge points are in London and we are confident we can play an important role in encouraging shoppers to choose an electric powered car over a petrol or diesel vehicle. We know that a lot of our customers worry about not being able to top up where they need to, and this move will help reduce that concern.”
Waitrose will be providing bays that will have 7kw fast charge units. These are able to add another 30 mile range to the battery within half an hour. Using industry standard points, every Polar facility has been developed to incorporate emerging charging and plug-in technologies.
The idea of establishing a national electric vehicle charging network, came from David Martell, chief executive of Chargemaster, Polar’s parent company. He said: “In a bid to reduce global carbon emissions, automotive manufacturers are making huge investments in electric and hybrid technology. To match this dedication and enable electric vehicles to become main-stream, we have established a nationwide EV charging. However this is only achievable with the support from partners like Waitrose, who provide the parking facilities that make EV charging accessible to all motorists.”
Source: Waitrose
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