Volkswagen and Tesco are developing the largest UK retail electric vehicle (EV) charging network, powered by Pod Point. The partners will roll out more than 2,400 EV charging bays across 600 Tesco stores within the next three years.

The charging bays will be based in Tesco Extra and Superstore car parks throughout the United Kingdom, and will be installed by the UK’s largest independent public charging network operator, Pod Point. Customers will be able to charge their electric cars using a standard 7kW fast charger for free, or benefit from the use of a rapid 50 kW charger for a small cost in line with the market rate.

The initiative underlines Volkswagen’s commitment to becoming a leading player in e-mobility and to deliver on its pledge to sell one million electric cars a year worldwide by 2025.

The ID family of all-electric models, based on the Volkswagen Group’s new MEB electric platform, will begin coming to market in the UK next year as order books open for the ID hatch—a fully electric Golf-sized model that will be followed from 2020 by production versions of the ID BUZZ (MPV) and ID CROZZ (SUV) concept cars.