A Brisbane-based manufacturer of electric vehicle (EV) chargers has achieved another breakthrough in the UK after reaching a preferred supplier agreement with Pod Point.
As part of the deal Tritium's Veefil-RT 50kW DC rapid charger will be offered to Pod Point's new and existing customers in the electric vehicle charging solutions space, including some of the UK's leading retail chains.
Pod Point chose Tritium as its preferred DC rapid charger supplier due to the proven reliability of its chargers, the ease and speed of installation and their unique design.
"EV adoption is accelerating rapidly in the UK and we're making sure the charging infrastructure is in place to sustain the awesome growth trend that we're seeing," says Pod Point CEO and founder Erik Fairbairn.
"We decided to work with Tritium because their products are reliable, easy to install and have a small physical footprint. We also liked that it's easy to add custom branding to the units too.
"DC fast charging is a key part of the UK charger mix, especially for drivers who need to re-charge quickly on long journeys or in emergencies, and for commercial vehicles that can't trickle charge because they don't park often."
Since its inception in 2009, Pod Point has manufactured and sold more than 69,000 charging points across the UK and Norway.
Tritium launched its Veefil-RT 50kW DC rapid charger in 2014 and since then has installed over 4,000 DC chargers or customers in more than 33 countries, including many Veefil-PK 350kW DC high power chargers.
Tritium's director of business development in Europe, Jeroen Jonker, says the agreement with Pod Point is a natural fit given the number of charges required for its rollouts and the speed with which they can be deployed and installed.
"We have already successfully deployed the first rapid chargers to Pod Point ahead of this agreement; Pod Point values this ease of installation and roll-out speed, and we are focused on ensuring a long-term supporting relationship with Pod Point," says Jonker.
"Pod Point's clients also appreciate that our charger has the world's smallest footprint, enabling charger deployment on their parking lots without sacrificing premium real estate."
The UK Government recently announced its plan to bring forward the deadline for the ban on selling new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars from 2040 to 2035.
Tritium's country manager for the UK and Ireland, Kevin Pugh, says the need to rollout public charging infrastructure will now become paramount.
"Electric vehicle interest was already increasing, and when you combine that with the Government's amended deadline it's clear we'll see electric vehicles become the norm sooner rather than later," says Pugh.
"However, not everyone in the UK has access to off-street parking, and as such drivers aren't always able to recharge at home and overnight. This needs to be addressed with publicly available, reliable and plentiful charging infrastructure, and one of Tritium's core goals is to make EV charging more convenient than re-fuelling.
"As diesel, petrol and hybrid vehicles are phased out, Pod Point's rollout will be key to addressing this concern and ensuring drivers can charge whenever they need to. Our chargers can be fitted with contactless credit card readers to facilitate ad hoc payment, an increasingly important requirement in the UK market."
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