Utility Claims UK’s First End-to-End EV Package

Greg Hyde

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7th November 2018

A Scottish energy provider is launching what it claims is the UK’s first end-to-end electric vehicle ownership package.

ScottishPower is claiming to have developed a package that includes “the UK’s smallest charge point”, operable via a smartphone app, and a “100% renewable electricity tariff”. As part of the deal, it says it is partnering with auto dealership Arnold Clark to allow customers to lease or buy an EV of their choice, agree a fully renewable electricity tariff, and have a charging station installed at their home.

ScottishPower CEO Keith Anderson said: “After removing carbon from how we generate electricity we believe the decarbonization of the UK’s transport system has to be next … we have to make the switch to EVs simpler”. To coincide with the launch, the company has commissioned a YouGov poll predicting 20% of British adults who don’t currently own EVs will consider buying or leasing one by October 2021.

A third of non-EV-owning respondents to the poll said they’d be more likely to consider buying one if automakers could guarantee they’d be powered fully renewably. Anderson claimed: “People are telling us they want EVs faster than expected”. Scottish Power is also using the fact that 46% of respondents to the YouGov poll didn’t know whether home charging station installation meant additional cabling, and 35% thought such stations could be used by other EV drivers, as selling points for its stations’ remote locking features and lack of additional cabling.