Free2move Charge and E.ON Drive expand EV Fast Charging Infrastructure at Stellantis Retailers in UK

• By the end of 2024, new fast charging stations will be located at selected Stellantis Retailers across Europe increasing electric vehicle customers’ access to fast chargers
• E.ON Drive Infrastructure (EDRI) selected as Free2move Charge partner for UK
• UK Retailer group signs-up to spearhead the fast-charging stations rollout

March 20, 2024 – Following the announcement on 4th December, 2023 detailing the European rollout of fast charging stations at Stellantis Retailers across Europe, co-branded Free2move Charge, UK Retailers sign up to spearhead the deployment.

Chorley Group, based in the North-West of England, have selected two of their sites in Blackpool and Ormskirk to have rapid DC public chargers installed. Other Retailers include James Haugh, Dumfries and Wycliffe, Rugby. The Free2move Charge stations feature the latest technology from EDRI, including up to 300KW ultra-rapid chargers, with a total of 24 chargepoints being installed at these initial sites.  Customers are able to pay for the charge using the Electroverse roaming app from Octopus Energy, which enables them to see key information such as nearby charge points, their availability and pricing.

The Chorley Group was founded as a family business in 1989 and has grown into an award-winning organisation operating internationally with sixteen key sites and eight franchises. Their Citroen site in Blackpool will offer customers six charging bays delivering over 900kWh of charging capacity. Whilst not quite enough to power the famous Blackpool Illuminations, they will certainly help the many visitors to the town charge their EV’s.

The chargers are planned to be operational at the sites by the end of 2024. Maria-Grazia Davino, Group Managing Director of Stellantis UK commented “Increasing the number of EV rapid chargers is critical to the acceleration of EV sales, enabling the customer to have a frictionless user experience. Our Free2move Charge ecosystem is there to support all drivers to always be charged. The rollout of the EDRI partnership will provide EV drivers with improved access to prime charging locations offered by the Stellantis Retailer network”.

EDRI’s UK’s Managing Director of Charging, Dev Chana, commented “EDRI’s partnership with Stellantis will enable us to quickly advance our rollout of ultra-rapid public chargers in the UK, providing customers with accessible and safe charging locations. Our collaboration here truly supports the much-needed consumer demand for increasing the availability of EV charging across the UK”.

ENDS

A network of fast charging stations (> 50 kW) will be installed at official Stellantis brand dealership locations across Europe by the end of 2024. The charging stations will be co-branded Free2move Charge, the comprehensive ecosystem fulfilling EV charging and energy needs, anywhere and in anyway, that embodies the e-ABC Promise: easy to Always Be Charged.

As the demand for fast and reliable public charging increases, Stellantis is expanding fast charging access to its EV customers, and all other EV drivers regardless of a brand, working together with two key partners: the Stellantis Dealer Network, which will provide the location sites, and select renowned Charge Point Operators (CPO), that will invest, develop, and operate the charging stations

With priority on customer comfort and ease of charging, each site will be equipped with multiple fast charging stations, allowing retail networks to provide a seamless, best-in-class charging experience. Retailers will benefit from increased visibility and traffic, conquering new EV customers, while offering new services to their loyal ones. Stellantis brand EV customers will access preferential charging tariffs through the Free2move Charge Go App and can test and learn about public charging while discovering the EV ecosystem.

E.ON Drive Infrastructure (EDRI) is a pan-European market leading charge point operator owned by the E.ON group. EDRI builds, owns, and operates public charging infrastructure for all types of electric vehicles. The company purpose is to build a sustainable world, by providing charging for everyone, everywhere. The team currently employs 120 people and operates more than 5,300 public charging points across 10 European countries: Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Norway, Italy, Hungary and Romania. Together with location partners EDRI will expand its network by installing 1,000 additional high power charging points per year.  

About Stellantis

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA / Euronext Milan: STLAM / Euronext Paris: STLAP) is one of the world’s leading automakers aiming to provide clean, safe and affordable freedom of mobility to all. It’s best known for its unique portfolio of iconic and innovative brands including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep_®, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys. Stellantis is executing its Dare Forward 2030, a bold strategic plan that paves the way to achieve the ambitious target of becoming a carbon net zero mobility tech company by 2038, with single-digit percentage compensation of the remaining emissions, while creating added value for all stakeholders. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com