Aldi has announced that electric car owners can now charge their vehicles at over 250 of its UK stores, following the installation of 1,200 charging plugs. The supermarket chain has promised to continue expanding its network, fitting chargers at around 20 new stores each year, including a mix of fast and rapid plugs.
Pricing and payment options
Aldi has stated that its EV charging plugs will be competitively priced, with fast charging costing 40p per kWh and rapid charging at 62p per kWh. Shoppers can check availability, view costs, and pay via the Charge Assist app, or use a contactless card for payment.
Comparison with other supermarkets
Aldi is not the first supermarket to introduce EV charging. Tesco and Lidl have partnered with PodPoint, ASDA often works with GeniePoint, and Sainsbury's offers charging through Smart Charge. According to Uswitch, most supermarket EV chargers are open to the public and do not require being a store customer, though some may impose time limits.
Jonathan Neale, Managing Director of National Real Estate at Aldi UK, said: “We’re committed to making sustainable choices more accessible for our shoppers, and we know many are looking for affordable, reliable and convenient ways to charge their cars. By expanding EV charging at more of our stores, we’re helping to make that easier and offering great-value charging while they shop.”
Public charging costs at supermarkets are generally higher than home charging, which can be around 7p per kWh.
