It may have recently celebrated an impressive 50 years in business, but Barnstaple firm Taw Garages has proven it’s very much looking to the future by installing rapid electric car chargers.
The family run company, which celebrated five decades of doing business in Barnstaple in November, is working with electric vehicle charging firm, InstaVolt, to ensure electric drivers can charge up on its forecourts.
The futuristic charging stations can get drivers topped up and back on the road in minutes and, unlike many others, are available for any EV driver to use with no subscription or membership card needed.
Motorists simply tap their contactless credit or debit card, charge-up and go. Users are charged only for the electricity they use on a per-unit basis. There is no connection fee, minimum charge or monthly subscription fee.
Richard Brend, senior director of Taw Garages & PRB Hoteliers’ at Taw Garages, said: “They’re proving popular already and we’ve welcomed quite a few new faces because of the chargers. It’s clear that electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular so it was important for us to add to our offering and cater for those drivers.”
There are currently an estimated 162,000 electric cars on the UK’s roads and a further 5,500 plug in vans. According to recent data there are 16,923 charge points currently live across the country.
Taw Garages, which also has a Ford dealership on site, was able to install the rapid charging stations in partnership with InstaVolt and now joins the charging company’s fast-growing network of EV chargers.
Richard said: “It was an obvious choice. It meant we could adapt and evolve our service without having to make any capital expenditure.”
Tim Payne, CEO of InstaVolt, says his firm is working with an increasing number of traditional petrol and diesel retailers as many seek to get ahead of the curve. “Sales of electric cars are rising and it’s great to see forecourts like Taw Garages being forward-thinking and adapting in response.”
