Sainsbury's brings in change to car parks and 'it couldn't come at a better time'

Octopus Energy has urged its customers to ditch Tesco, Morrisons and Asda for shopping at Sainsbury's. Octopus and Sainsbury's are teaming up to make festive shopping "greener and easier" for electric car drivers thanks to a new partnership.

The partnership between Octopus Energy’s Electroverse platform and Sainsbury’s Smart Charge means drivers can now access over 560 Smart Charge ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) chargers at 68 Sainsbury’s UK stores nationwide at just a tap of their Octopus Electroverse card.

These chargers can power up an EV in under 30 minutes, charging batteries to the brim in the time it takes to pick up groceries. As an added bonus, between 16 December and 10 January, every £1 spent on charging earns drivers 5 Nectar points, unlocking savings on customers’ festive shopping.

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Smart Charge powered by Sainsbury’s launched at the start of this year, with 100% of its sites having fully accessible bays and a reliable service with +99% uptime. Matt Davies, Director of Octopus Electroverse, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome Sainsbury’s Smart Charge chargers to Electroverse. Their rapidly increasing number of ultra-rapid supermarket chargers helps fit electric car charging perfectly into daily routines. Drivers also get extra Nectar points when powering up with Electroverse over the next few weeks - just in time for the festive season.”

Patrick Dunne, Director of Property, Procurement and EV ventures at Sainsbury’s said: “Smart Charge continues to go from strength to strength and we’re delighted that Octopus Electroverse has chosen to collaborate with us, giving all its customers direct access to our 24/7, convenient and reliable ultra-rapid charging hubs.

"This partnership represents another critical step in our ambition to make EV charging simple and accessible to all – it couldn’t come at a better time for us as Sainsbury’s gears up to create a Big Christmas for all, with something to satisfy every customer’s taste and budget.”