Shoppers get EV charging hub at White City Retail Park

• Ultra-rapid chargers installed by Be.EV allow shoppers to charge their cars in just 20 minutes

• Free charging at the site for Be.EV members for one week only

• Installation marks the start of a larger rollout by The Derwent Group to provide EV charging across their retail portfolio

Visitors to Trafford’s White City Retail Park are now able to charge their electric vehicles while they shop thanks to the installation of five new ultra-rapid EV chargers. 

All Be.EV members will also have exclusive access to free charging at this location for a week, from Tuesday 14th until Tuesday 21st November.

The project marks the start of a partnership between The Derwent Group, who operate the retail park on behalf of The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, and EV charging network Be.EV to deliver a state of the art, reliable charging hub for shoppers. 

White City is the first of four installations that Be.EV will be developing in partnership with The Derwent Group, which is set to drive additional footfall and enhance the value of their sites. Further charging hubs are planned at some of the North West’s most popular retail destinations across Liverpool, Warrington and Wallasey. 

All of the sites will be equipped with cutting-edge Kempower chargers, which can charge a typical EV to 80% in as little as 20 minutes, compared to 4-6 hours on a 7kW fast charger. 

These chargers can intelligently distribute energy supply between vehicles according to demand - meaning if one car reaches the maximum amount of power on one charger, any residual energy supply can be reassigned to another vehicle connected on-site.

White City Retail Park attracts an average of 140,000 vehicles per month. The ten parking bays sharing five 150kW ultra-rapid chargers will allow more shoppers’ cars to be charged in a day and become free again more quickly for the next person – a key factor in ensuring a smooth and convenient charging experience while drivers browse shops including Furniture Village and Curry’s PC World or visit Nandos or KFC.

Be.EV’s installation sees White City Retail Park join the largest public EV charging network connecting communities across the North of England and boasting impressive reliability (99.6% operational availability across the entire network).  

Trafford is already benefiting from dozens of Be.EV chargers, putting the area ahead of the curve with its EV infrastructure. 

In an unusual move for the industry, Be.EV undertook all up-front installation and operating costs for the White City hub as well as the design, build, installation of the site, and ongoing maintenance.

Asif Ghafoor, CEO of Be.EV, says: ​​”We’re delighted to work with The Derwent Group as their EV partner, and to bring our state of the art charging infrastructure to retail sites across their portfolio.

“Retail parks offer shoppers a convenient moment to charge their car, and The Derwent Group is getting ahead of the curve by providing reliable, high quality charging facilities for their visitors.

“Other property developers should be taking note. As more and more shoppers choose to drive electric vehicles, they’ll naturally gravitate to retail destinations where they can conveniently charge their car whilst shopping.” 

Peter​ Gilliland, Head of Property Management at The Derwent Group adds: “The roll out of this first phase of electric vehicle chargers with Be.EV at White City marks an exciting step in the evolution of the Derwent Group portfolio as we look to create more sustainable and improved amenities for our customers and drive revenue. 

“Given the prime locations and strong line-ups of our retail parks, partnering with Be.EV was an obvious choice given its established local network and commitment to excellent customer service. We are looking forward to rolling out EVC to a further 11 sites in upcoming phases.”

The Derwent Group works on behalf of The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, which funds projects run by registered charities in England, Wales, Isle of Man, and Republic of Ireland. The charity’s property portfolio currently comprises three million sq ft of office, industrial, leisure, and retail space.