19.9.2011 Most popular charging spots

Statistics released by nationwide electric vehicle charging specialist POD Point have revealed that the IKEA store in Wembley, North London, is their most popular Source London charger.

Drivers took advantage of over 157 hours of charging time across 32 POD Points in the Source London network during August, but the IKEA store topped the usage chart with over 18 hours of charging.

Surprisingly, only 4% of Source London's charge points are located in retail car parks like IKEA. However, with the introduction of a faster charge point by POD Point at last week's Low Carbon Vehicle show, the company's CEO Erik Fairbairn believes that retailers across the country could extend the time their customers stay in store by offering electric vehicle charging facilities.

POD Point CEO Erik Fairbairn comments, "We are seeing increasing numbers of retailers explore the benefits of installing EV charge points in their car parks because it encourages customers to spend longer in store, which in turn will help increase their spend.

"Many will be aware of the debate raised by Top Gear recently with regards to the length of time it takes to charge an electric vehicle. Whilst our new twin charge points are able to provide a full charge in 3 hours, what we have found is that most drivers simply 'graze' when it comes to public charging, topping up with some charge whilst they shop. Our new charge points can provide 30 miles of additional driving in just an hour, making it the perfect solution for retailers who want to entice customers to stay in store for longer."

POD Point has seen massive growth over the last two years in particular, with a total of 260 POD Points currently installed across the UK. Although all installed points are 13A slow chargers, POD Point have recently announced a charger that uses a 32A current which can fully charge a typical electric vehicle in half the time. The majority of electric vehicles to be launched over the coming few years are likely to be able to accept this rate of charge.

To see the location of existing charging points from POD Point as well as other providers, visit Next Green Car's Zap-Map.