UK’s first all-electric vehicle forecourt opened by Gridserve

The UK’s first all-electric vehicle (EV) charging forecourt has opened in Braintree near Essex.

Opened by Gridserve, it is the first of 100 forecourt sites dedicated to electric vehicles. The company plans to open the 100 sites over the next five years. The new site in Braintree has a WHSmith Travel, Costa Coffee, Booths symbol store and a post office.

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Its retail offering accompanies 36 electric vehicle chargers which can add 200 miles to the range of an electric vehicle in 20 minutes.

WHSmith‘s managing director Toby Keir said: “At WHSmith, we have been serving customers on their journeys for over 200 years and we understand how important convenience is to people on the go.”

The opening of the forecourt comes as the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2030 in a bid to encourage the sales of electric vehicles.

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