Drivers who use Moto, Roadchef and Extra service stations issued big boost

Gridserve is to spend £1 billion on installing more than 1,000 fast chargers at service stations across the country.

A huge boost has been issued for EV drivers that could solve nightmare queues of furious motorists at service stations. Gridserve is to spend £1 billion on installing more than 1,000 fast chargers at service stations across the country.

The move changes the game for many electric drivers, after service stations had been forced to draft in marshals due to long queues for electric-car chargers. The head of Britain’s largest charging network says he will install 1,000 of the devices this year to combat queues.

Toddington Harper, the chief executive of Gridserve, which runs charge points at Moto, Roadchef and Extra service stations, said: "A few years ago it was very difficult to raise funding for charging infrastructure. Instead of people worrying about queuing, people worried: ‘Is anybody actually going to turn up?

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"'Are electric cars going to be a thing?’ Queues have given the finance community the confidence to raise the money to make queues a thing of the past.” Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said in response: “Powering up our motorways with the latest charging technology is absolutely critical to speeding up the EV revolution.

“Manufacturers are investing in models, with some already on the market, that can charge at faster rates, and so we need a national network to match, for it to be built ahead of need, and to cut VAT on public charging.” The firm installed a 360kW charger, capable of adding 100 miles to an electric vehicle (EV) in less than five minutes, at its Braintree Electric Forecourt back in 2022.

Mr Harper said at the time: “It is fantastic to have the UK’s first 360kW capable charger open to the public at Braintree Electric Forecourt. By installing this latest innovation now, we are offering state of the art charging technology to our customers."

And he added: “It can be used with a variety of electric vehicles including HGVs and cars towing caravans.”