Sainsbury’s to reward EV charging with Nectar points

By 24th June, all users of Smart Charge – Sainsbury’s ultra-rapid EV charging service – will receive Nectar reward points, making it the first EV charging service in the UK to introduce a national loyalty program.

The Nectar points will be awarded at 1 point for every pound spent.

The ultra-rapid Smart Charge network has over 400 charging bays across the Sainsbury’s estate, with more than 65,000 hours of charging to date. 

Zapmap research recently revealed that Sainsbury’s had overseen a significant surge in the roll-out of EV chargers last year, when they nearly tripled the number of chargers in their estate.

Indeed, the announcement of the expansion of the Nectar scheme came at the launch of the company’s 50th Smart Charge EV charging location, at the Sainsbury’s London Enfield Superstore, where 12 new bays are now available 

Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury’s Director of Property, Procurement & EV Ventures, said: ‘Today marks a huge milestone for our Smart Charge business as we become the first EV charging provider to offer customers loyalty benefits from a UK leading loyalty programme, Nectar. Rolling out across June, customers using any of our 400 Smart Charge bays across the country will now be able to benefit from collecting Nectar points to spend on their favourite brands.

‘With bays in more locations than ever before, and Sainsbury’s stores conveniently placed far and wide, it has never been easier for EV drivers across the UK to access ultra-rapid facilities, and now they can reap the benefit of Nectar points too. Not to forget the added advantage of popping into a Sainsbury’s store to pick up some groceries while waiting for their vehicle charge to complete.

‘Our Enfield store is a fantastic location, in a popular residential area of North London and near main roads, making it an ideal spot for our 50th location.”’

Smart Charge is the only fully owned and end-to-end managed EV charging business from a UK supermarket. The service is intended to help advance the uptake of electric vehicles in the country, making access to charging on the go more accessible and supporting the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

New charging hubs will be added to the Smart Charge network throughout the UK regularly, with service information and new openings published on www.smartcharge.co.uk.