Pod Point, one of the largest providers of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in the UK, extended its partnership with Lidl GB in 2019 to install 350 rapid chargers by 2022.

And today the nationwide rollout has reached the 100th rapid charger milestone following the installation of a 50kW charger at the Hayes Uxbridge Road store in Hillingdon, West London.

Lidl, which has rapid chargers in 100 stores across Great Britain, provided 1.1 million kWh of energy to power customers’ vehicles in 2020. This is enough energy to drive 4.4 million electric miles or fly around the world 177 times. It’s estimated that EV drivers using Lidl’s charge points have saved more than 1.77 million kg of CO2 since the first installations went live.

The EV rapid charger rollout represents a total investment in EV charging infrastructure of over £25 million and forms part of Lidl’s commitment to address range anxiety, accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and help customers to lead more sustainable lives.

Lidl’s EV customers can now charge their vehicles with up to 80 per cent charging capacity in 50 minutes with the retailer continuing to be the cheapest national supermarket chain for PAYG rapid charging, at 23p/kWh.

Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point Founder and CEO, said: “When most people think of Lidl, they probably think of food and drink. However, Lidl has also made an enormous contribution to rapid charging infrastructure in Great Britain. Currently 2.5 out of every 100 rapid chargers in the UK can be found at Lidl stores, and there are many more in the pipeline.”

Alan Barry, Chief Development Officer for Lidl GB, added: “We are committed to empowering our customers to make the right decisions for their lifestyle and are delighted to have reached this important milestone of bringing rapid charging for electric vehicles to 100 of our stores. We look forward to delivering this service to even more local areas in the near future as we continue with our investment.”

Lidl is also home to the most popular public charger within the Pod Point network, the industrious ‘Nick-Bill’ at the Lidl Northolt store in West London which delivered almost 40,000kWh in 2020

The partnership is on track to install a further 250 rapid chargers by the end of 2022.