Jaguar Land Rover has installed 166 smart charging outlets for electric vehicles (EVs) at its Gaydon engineering centre in the UK, officially making it the largest facility to enable carbon-free commuting.
Research indicates that 40% of electric car charging in Europe is done at work. Thus, the cost-neutral charger network is available for all Jaguar Land Rover employees, while simultaneously encouraging employee uptake of EVs. The charging points will also be installed in the visitor’s car park, allowing guests to take advantage of convenient, fast charging as well.
The 7kW AC smart charging stations are supplied by NewMotion – a Shell company and the largest roaming charging network in Europe – and are connected to the cloud and NewMotion public charging network. This allows employees to charge at stations across Europe with a single card, and monitor and track their charging with the smartphone app.
Sytse Zuidema, CEO of NewMotion, said: “As the leading provider of smart charging solutions in Europe, our data shows when EV drivers are charging their car, 40% of the time this happens at work. For the best possible charging experience for companies and individuals, NewMotion offers a range of services to ensure charging is readily available for EV drivers at home, at work and on the go. Converting the parking spaces at Gaydon into the largest single-site with smart charging locations provides that workplace charging opportunity to Jaguar Land Rover’s employees while our NewMotion charge card gives them access to the largest roaming charging network in Europe.”
The stations provide a 35km range to the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE every hour. The range increases up to 283km with an eight-hour charge. The infrastructures itself will be powered by 100% renewable electricity, like solar and wind energy, which will enable carbon-free commuting for employees. The electricity supply is backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO), which means that a proportion of the EDF Energy’s renewable energy is ring-fenced for the company. These stations also offer a convenient and sustainable solution for employees who can’t charge their vehicles at home.
Mick Cameron, Head of e-Mobility at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Every new Jaguar and Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving our customers even more choice. We have already introduced a portfolio of electrified products across our model ranges, including fully electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and mild hybrid (MHEV) vehicles. The Jaguar I-PACE, Jaguar’s first premium battery electric vehicle, arrived in showrooms in March 2018 and has since won 55 international awards including European Car of the Year 2019. We hope that by providing a network of electric charging points to staff and visitors at our Gaydon engineering centre, we can help encourage the uptake of alternative fuels amongst our employees.
“It’s all part of our commitment to acting more sustainably – our UK facilities are already powered by 100% renewable electricity, and we believe the new charging points will help our employees to tread lightly on their daily commute.”
