A new study looking at the reliability of the network of electric car charging stations in supermarkets found that 43% are not working. Half the Morrisons chargers were out of order
Shoppers hoping to charge their electric vehicles while doing their weekly grocery shopping could be frustrated as new research has found that more than two in five devices in supermarket car parks are not working.
Analysis of public charging data revealed that 43% of chargers located in major supermarket locations have connection issues or are completely out of order.
The study, carried out by car rental comparison site LeaseLoco, found that half of the chargers at Tesco and Morrisons stores examined were not working, while two in five at Lidl showed a fault.
The analysis was carried out using the Zap-Map charging point app to examine the status of on-site devices at seven major supermarkets on January 14 and 15.
The supermarket chains examined were Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose.
The sample covered 20 major UK cities* (excluding London) and only looked at supermarket sites within a 20km radius of the city centre.
In the seven supermarkets, where charger status was live and available on Zap-Map, an average of 57% was shown as working without issue.
Morrisons had the most comprehensive charger status data on Zap-Map, but this revealed that only half (50%) of the chargers were working on the dates examined.
The research identified that 12 out of 13 EV chargers on site at four Morrisons stores in and around Swansea were showing on Zap-Map as out of service.
While only two out of 12 Chargers were working at the four Morrisons stores within a 12 mile radius of Portsmouth, the report said.
Asda had the highest percentage of functional EV chargers at 74% of any reviewed where there was status data available on Zap-Map.
Although Tesco sites had a lower percentage of working chargers than Morrison at 49%, LeaseLoco claims this was based on fewer devices, as in many cases the online status data does not were not available for shippers, which were therefore omitted from the study.
Tesco also recently scrapped free billing for customers.
From November 1, 2022, Pod Point, which runs devices in Tesco car parks in partnership with Volkswagen, said electric vehicle drivers will have to pay 28p per kWh to use the slowest 7kW devices, 40p for 22kW chargers and 50 pence per kWh to connect to its grid. 50kW fast charging stations.
The comparison website said not having a charger reliability status available for many verified devices will add to the frustration of EV owners, as it means it may not be possible to know in advance whether particular chargers are working or not.
For example, in all Aldi stores considered in this research, there was no live status data.
Commenting on the results of the study, John Wilmot, CEO of LeaseLoco, said supermarkets should be a great place to recharge, with the average person spending nearly an hour in-store shopping, but reliability issues could cause a major headache for owners of electric vehicles. looking to boost the batteries while they fill their baskets.
Although Tesco sites have a lower percentage of working chargers than Morrisons at 49%, LeaseLoco claims this is based on fewer devices
“This research shows that pinning your hopes on your local supermarket to recharge your car battery can be a frustrating experience,” John said.
“It also highlights the challenges of reliance on public charging infrastructure – including charging stations in supermarkets – which is not 100% reliable and where demand exceeds supply.
“Although some car owners rarely use public chargers, as they only need their vehicle for short distances and can charge at home, many will need to use the public grid to keep their car on the road.
“As more people switch to electric vehicles, the need for fit-for-purpose charging infrastructure will intensify. And if we want to avoid seeing a repeat of the scenes seen at Christmas, with drivers queuing for hours to charge their electric vehicles, that has to be a priority.
*cities examined in the study: birmingham, Bristol, Brighton, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Outside, Glasgow, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlebrough, Newcastle, norwich, Nottingham, Plymouth, Portmouth, Southampton, Swansea
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