Drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) have received a major boost with the opening of one of the largest public rapid charger hubs on one of the UK’s busiest motorways.
InstaVolt – which owns, installs and maintains rapid electric vehicle charging units all over the country – has set up an eight-bay hub at Welcome Break’s service area on the northbound carriageway of the M6 at Corley in the Midlands.
A further seven rapid chargers will open on Welcome Break’s southbound carriageway at Corley by the end of the month. Drivers of electric vehicles will also be able to enjoy a range of popular amenities at the service area whilst they charge, including Waitrose, Starbucks and KFC.
With 490 rapid chargers already installed, these latest hubs are part of a £50m investment by InstaVolt in its drive to install 5,000 rapid EV chargers by 2025.
The announcement marks an important development after the government’s recent pledge to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030. It also comes after other announcements of charge hubs, such as Gridserve’s Electric Forecourt in Essex and EvoEnergy building its first charging hubs in York.
Adrian Keen, Chief Executive Office at InstaVolt, said:
“Our project at Welcome Break marks a significant step forward for EV drivers who, for the first time, can now enjoy InstaVolt’s award-winning contactless payment and class-leading reliability on a motorway service area.”
He continued: “The M6 has particular importance to us as it is one of the busiest and longest continuous motorways in the UK. serving the country’s second city, Birmingham, while bypassing Coventry and the market town of Rugby.”
John Diviney, CEO of Welcome Break, said:
“We are delighted to embark on this project with InstaVolt and to support our customers’ growing demand for EV charging points at our service areas.”
He continued: “We are glad to be playing our part in the EV rollout across the UK and look forward to welcoming customers who will be able to enjoy the many amenities that Welcome Break has to offer while charging their vehicles.”
InstaVolt has built a reputation on the premise that charging an EV should be quick and easy. InstaVolt operates an ‘open charger’ model, so anyone can use its charging points on a pay-as-you-go basis. In a recent Zap-Map survey, Instavolt came second overall for the third year running in the UK’s top ranking electric vehicle networks, also coming in top place for multi-brand networks.
One Zap-Map user and InstaVolt fan commented that the network is “modern, super reliable, generally come in pairs and contactless payment is a huge plus”.
