Less than one week since the UK Government published its draft of new Public Charge Point regulations and nationwide logistics specialist Engineius has provided a real-time snapshot of public EV charging – and revealed its drivers’ favourite charging network is the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway.
The tech-enabled logistics company has more than 600 self-employed drivers and transport agents on its books, delivering electric vehicles all over the country. The recent poll was designed to capture their drivers’ direct and daily experience of public EV charging and out of the 12 major brands presented, GRIDSERVE was voted the leader in reliability, followed by Tesla and InstaVolt.
Chris Clibbery, director and co-founder at Engineius, said: “Owning an EV and charging it at home or your place of work is a very different experience from the nationwide driving/charging experience. Our drivers are working to agreed customer delivery times so charging efficiency is essential for them.”
Of course, we know that speed, availability and reliability of electric vehicle chargers are critical to building positive experiences and consumer confidence around electric vehicles. Not just for Engeneius, but for all drivers that are making the switch from fossil fuel. It’s why we’re delivering dozens of new Electric Super Hub sites this year, installing 350kW-capable EV chargers that can provide 100 miles of range within 10 minutes. It’s also why GRIDSERVE is one of the founding members of ChargeUK, joining forces with some of the UK’s other leading charge point operators to encourage standardised regulations and ensure a robust, sustainable and world-leading EV charging network.
Under the new Public Charge Point regulations, the UK’s public rapid charging network will be required to have a 99% reliability rate, offer real-time status updates and display the cost of using a unit of energy, expressed in pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). Under these new regulations, charging firms could be fined up to £10,000 for each unit that fails to comply with the regulations.
More good news for consumers is that all public EV chargers faster than 8kW must offer contactless payment, removing the need for drivers to possess a plethora of smartphone apps. Engineius drivers reported that they have up to seven different EV charging apps on their phones to facilitate charging at various locations throughout the UK, with 73% of drivers using more than one app.
For GRIDSERVE, contactless payment, transparent and affordable pricing and a 99% reliability rating is the minimum bar. The newly formed GRIDSERVE Technologies is currently durability testing existing EV chargers and trialling yet-to-be-released equipment that will ensure the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway offers a fast, durable and consistent experience in all conceivable conditions.
We’re looking forward to showing a host of innovations that go way beyond the expectations of the UK Government’s Public Charge Point regulations, improving the experience for Engeineius and indeed all electric vehicle drivers across the UK.
