Centrica strikes EV home charge point deal with VW Group

Centrica and Volkswagen Group have agreed a three-year partnership to provide home charging units for new EV owners.

The deal will see Elli, the central provider of charging hardware and related services for the main Volkswagen Group, work exclusively with British Gas to deliver a package of home charging installations, aftersales services and preparatory electrical upgrades across the UK. It will initially be rolled out across the Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, with plans for Audi to join later this year.

Volkswagen Group has committed to introducing 80 electric and plug-in hybrid models by 2025.

Sarwjit Sambhi, CEO of Centrica Consumer, said: “Centrica is committed to a pathway for the energy transition in line with the Paris agreement through focusing on three things - helping our customers reduce their emissions, reducing the emissions of the energy system as a whole, and reducing our own. 

“We made material progress on all of these during 2019 and are committed to a plan for delivering net zero by 2050.”

Alex Smith, managing director at Volkswagen Group UK, added: “I am delighted that Elli have teamed up with Centrica to deliver home charging solutions. This will give customers even more confidence as they make the switch to emission free driving.”

Centrica is working with car manufacturers, fleet owners and public bodies to support them in EV readiness, providing an EV enablement package which includes charger infrastructure, energy management, financing, and optimisation, it said.

It is also offering a British Gas electric vehicle tariff that allows consumers to take advantage of off-peak electricity prices by using the car dashboard or car manufacturer’s app to schedule EV charging during the cheaper night-time hours.