10:35 am, November 13, 2023
Tesla’s ultra-fast chargers are to be bought by a petrol station giant for its own network.
EG Group, which is run by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who own Asda, said the so-called Superchargers will be branded evpoint and available to all electric vehicle drivers.
Popular among EV drivers for their reliability and speed, the chargers could only be used to charge Tesla’s cars at first, but they’ve been available to drivers of all EV brands in the UK since a trial last November.
Tesla will provide the charging hardware and technology for EG to install.
The deal is for an undisclosed sum, but Zuber Issa said: ‘Securing this best-in-class equipment from Tesla marks another milestone for evpoint and is hugely exciting for us.
‘It is the first deal of its kind entered into by Tesla with a third-party charge point operator in Europe and will transform how our customers charge their vehicles and how they interact with EG.
‘Since installing our first EV charger back in 2012, we have continued to invest in the technology.
‘This deal will accelerate the delivery of vital charging infrastructure for motorists to help power the transition to net zero.’
Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s senior director of charging infrastructure, said: ‘The rapid installation of reliable, easy-to-use EV charging infrastructure is the right step towards a sustainable future and a key area of focus for us at Tesla.
‘For this reason, we’re excited to make our fast-charging hardware available for purchase to EG Group and other leaders in the space.’
According to the government, as of October 1 the UK had just over 49,000 public EV charging devices, said Reuters, which added that EG wanted to expand its charging network from more than 600 to over 20,000.
This story was originally published at 10.35am on November 13, 2023 and updated at 2.48pm after factual errors in the submitted copy on which we based our article were brought to our attention
Main image credit: Mike Egerton/PA
