Citygate is partnering with Centrica to install the latest EV charging technology to 10 of its Volkswagen dealerships in London and the South East.
Volkswagen Group is set to release an onslaught of electric vehicles over the next few years, with the company committing to selling 22 million EVs by the year 2028. In order to capitalise on that electric revolution, the company’s dealerships are working to get the infrastructure in place.
Centrica will predominantly be responsible for supplying the charging infrastructure, although the company will also be offering aftersales support on EV accessories and charging products, including home charging installations. That’s all part of the company’s Local Heroes service, which recently expanded to offer home charger installations from EO Charging.
In addition to the charging infrastructure, Centrica will also be collaborating with Citygate on the development of an EV Centre of Excellence. Centrica will install an on-site virtual power plant (VPP) by linking EV chargers and other large energy-consuming assets into a cloud platform, so they can be turned down or turned off when demand for electricity is particularly high, reducing the need for baseload power stations and helping to decarbonise the grid. The impact of these measures will be visible to Citygate customers and staff through educational showroom displays.
Customer information will be available on topics such as charging, energy tariffs, climate change and air quality, which will form part of the Centre. Centrica will also develop training programmes for Citygate staff and educational materials for customers to provide knowledge and insight into the decarbonisation of transport and the home.
“EVs are moving from niche to mainstream, so it is vital that we are able to support our customers both in store and post-sale. The measures we are putting in place will put our sales, marketing and servicing staff at the forefront of EV enablement. Centrica’s scale and level of experience in this space made them an obvious partner,” said Jonathan Smith, Citygate CEO.
