Tesco has expanded its free EV charging network further to cover 500 locations nationwide, while usage has surged 300% over the past year.

It’s the latest expansion to the UK’s largest free electric vehicle charging network, which was first launched in 2019 in partnership with Volkswagen and Pod Point.

Since then, the charge points have provided more than 41 million miles of free electric driving to motorists – the equivalent to travelling from Earth to the moon and back 85 times. This has led to a saving of 8,786 tonnes of CO2 compared with travelling the same distance in an ICE car – almost the equivalent CO2 absorbed by 900,000 trees in a year.

The partnership has also hit two million charges – a 300% increase in usage from 500,000 charges in April 2021.

The 500th charging location was opened at the Tesco Extra store in Inverness. The entire network of 1,000+ chargers includes free-to-use 7kW and 22kW chargers, alongside 100 50kW rapid chargers available at a “competitive rate” for customers requiring more than a top-up. These are in specifically targeted areas without rapid charging access, such as the Tesco stores in Leicester and Maldon.

The latest milestone means the network is on track to meet its original target of launching charging points at 600 Tesco stores across the UK.

Jason Tarry, CEO at Tesco UK & ROI, said: “We’re thrilled to see the rollout of free EV charging at our retail stores gather pace.

“The network is helping customers visiting Tesco who need to save time and charge while they shop.

“This latest milestone highlights the commitment across the business to our goal of carbon neutrality in the UK by 2035.”

Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point founder and CEO, added that the firm’s partnership with Tesco continues to make a significant and very visible contribution to the UK’s charging infrastructure, giving drivers the confidence to transition to electric.

“Pod Point’s mission is to put an EV charge point everywhere you park and we’re delighted to see so many more shoppers up and down the country reap the benefits as we continue the rollout.”