Tesco has announced the expansion of its free electric vehicle charging network to 500 stores across the country.

Tesco, Volkswagen, and Pod Point first launched the charging network in 2019.

The UK’s largest supermarket said that usage of its chargers had surged by 300 per cent over the past year.

Charging sessions jumped from 500,000 in April 2021 to over two million by the end of February this year.

“We’re thrilled to see the rollout of free EV charging at our retail stores gather pace,” said Jason Tarry, chief executive, Tesco UK & Republic of Ireland. “The network is helping customers visiting Tesco who need to save time and charge while they shop.”

The chief executive added that this latest milestone reinforces the supermarket’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in the UK by 2035.

The 500th charging location was opened at the Tesco Extra store in Inverness.

"It gives me great pride to see leading companies coming together to bolster the UK's switch to electric vehicles,” said transport minister Trudy Harrison. “This Government has already committed £2.5bn to support the rollout of EVs across the country and we will shortly be launching an ambitious infrastructure strategy setting out our plans to deliver a world-class public charging network.”

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