Vauxhall- and Citroën-branded fast-charging stations are opening in the U.K. as part of the Stellantis Group’s partnership with a domestic energy provider.
As part of the group’s commitment to the rollout of fast-charging stations at its authorized retailers across Europe, two sites are opening and flying its brands' banners in Chorley, in the northwest of England. Dealers are signing up the stations, part of Stellantis’s co-branded Free2move Charge ecosystem, to accelerate the deployment.
Retailer Chorley Group has chosen sites in Blackpool and Ormskirk to have rapid DC public chargers installed. Other retailers include James Haugh, Dumfries and Wycliffe, Rugby. The Free2move Charge stations feature the technology infrastructure from automotive energy provider E.ON Drive, including up to 300-Kw ultra-rapid chargers, with a total of 24 charge points being installed at these initial sites.
Consumers can pay for the charge using the Electroverse roaming app from Octopus Energy, which provides them with key information, such as nearby charge points, their availability and pricing.
The Chorley Group’s Citroën site in Blackpool will offer customers six charging bays delivering over 900 kWh of charging capacity. Chargers are planned to be operational at the sites by the end of 2024.
Maria-Grazia Davino, group managing director of Stellantis UK, says, “Increasing the number of EV rapid chargers is critical to the acceleration of EV sales, enabling the customer to have a frictionless user experience.”
