EV charging network, Pod Point has announced this week that its free charging program at Tesco supermarkets in the UK is coming to an end. Back at the end of 2019, Volkswagen and Tesco partnered up to provide free EV charging at its supermarkets but only for 7kW fast chargers, at the time there was a small charge for anything faster, at 50kW.

However, in the three years since the scheme was put into place the adoption of electric vehicles has grown exponentially and now with the rise in electricity prices, Pod Point has decided to start charging for use of the chargers. The company also hints that there is an issue with charger availability as some reports suggest that people are leaving cars on chargers longer than they need to be or being left overnight in some cases.

“It’s hoped that by making these changes customers will only top up when they need to, ensuring that they make way for others once their cars are charged.”

Pod Point has also said that so far, the partnership with Volkswagen at Tesco stores “has provided more than 86 million miles of free electric driving. Overall the Tesco EV charging network has saved over 12 thousand tonnes of CO2.”

In terms of payments, Pod Point will be taking contactless cards (and presumably Apple Pay) at the 50kW Rapid chargers and for the 7kW units, it can be completed via the Pod Point app or online.

The free charging will stop on 1st November 2022.

Video from Modern Heroes explaining the situation in more detail

Source: Pod Point