French retailer Carrefour is to install 5,000 electric vehicle charging points at its 700 hypermarkets and supermarkets by 2025.
The announcement builds on its previous commitment to install 2,000 fast charging points with outputs of between 75kW and 300 kW at its 200 hypermarkets by 2023.
In addition to the fast-charging points, plans include 22 kW charging points which will be free for the first hour for customers with a Carrefour loyalty card, and free chargers for light electric vehicles such as e-bikes, electric mopeds and electric scooters.
The first fast charging station is to open this week at the La Chapelle Saint-Luc hypermarket in Troyes, northeastern France. Typically each hypermarket will have ten charging points and supermarkets five.
- Governments and utilities need to carry out ambitious plans if Europe is to be ready for 130 million electric vehicles by 2035, according to a recent report from EY and utilities trade body Eurelectric. Their “Power sector accelerating e-mobility” report concludes Europe will need 65 million EV chargers – 9 million public and 56 million residential – to handle the 40-fold growth anticipated in EVs from the 3.3 million on Europe’s roads today.
