Asda will provide customers with free to use electric vehicle (EV) charging points in some of its West Yorkshire stores thanks to a new partnership with ENGIE.
Customers will have 24/7 access to the free charging points across 19 of the retailer’s stores, including Middleton, Asda’s sustainability store.
Supplying 100% renewable energy from ENGIE, the rapid charge points give customers 160 miles of driving on average and will be free to use until 29 October 2021, when customers will begin to pay for their charge.
The chargers can be located by ENGIE’s web-app and are part of a wider launch of EV charging points across West Yorkshire. After securing almost £2 million of funding from the Government’s Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) in 2019, West Yorkshire Combined Authority appointed ENGIE to install and operate at least 88 rapid charging points across the region. Each charging point includes one bay for taxis and private hire vehicles and one bay for all other users.
The installation of charging points at Asda stores within the locality will mark the final phase of the programme, helping to improve West Yorkshire’s air quality by encouraging the use of electric vehicles.
John Mutton, Asda’s Senior Asset Manager said:
“We know that our customers and colleagues are always looking for ways to live more sustainably and we want to continue to help them do that with ease, which is why I’m really pleased we’ve made it convenient for them to access charging points so they can plug in whilst they shop.
“With thanks to our partner ENGIE, customers will see these charging points installed in some of our carparks over the coming weeks and we hope that by making them easily accessible, it will encourage more drivers to look at greener vehicles in the future and support a reduction in carbon emissions.”
Jerry Moloney, Managing Director for ENGIE’s Futures business said:
“We are very pleased that in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, we have already installed over 70 rapid electric vehicle chargers and have begun the installation of a further 19 charging points at Asda stores within the West Yorkshire region.
“The provision of rapid electric vehicle charging facilities at Asda stores offers customers a reliable and convenient way to charge whilst they visit the store. The ENGIE network charging points will be completely free to use until October 2021, in the hope that this will encourage more people to make the switch to EV.
“This is an exciting step towards improving air quality across West Yorkshire and ultimately supporting the UK’s goals to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said:
“The 19 electric vehicle charging points installed at Asda stores throughout the region form part of our commitment to install at least 88 charging points across West Yorkshire by the end of this summer to improve air quality and help people to change to electric vehicles.
“Our partnership with ENGIE is part of our drive to dramatically reduce emissions from transport as we make West Yorkshire a net-zero carbon economy by 2038.”
The move is part of Asda’s sustainable business strategy, which was set out in the retailer’s first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, launched last month.
As part of the strategy, which aims to offer customers more sustainable choices every day, Asda has committed to Becoming a net zero carbon business by 2040 – a journey that includes reducing Green House Gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 50% by 2025.
This post is based on a press release issued by Asda
