Kaufland to open national network of electric charging stations

Newsroom 07/04/2016 | 17:10

Kaufland Romania in partnership with Renovatio opened this Thursday an electric car charging station in Bucharest in the parking of the Kaufland store on the Barbu Vacaresu Blvd, the retailer has announced. This will be the first of a network of 10 such fast-charging electric stations that will cover the route from Arad, in western Romania, to Constanta on the Black Sea coast. The next one will be opened by the end of April in the parking of a Kaufland store in Ploiesti and the others over the next 9 months, according to Kaufland representatives.

The stations can be used by all types of electric and plug-in hybrid cars, are open non stop and can be used free of charge. With the fast-charge option, 80 percent of the car’s battery capacity can be charged in about an hour.

Between EUR 20,000 and EUR 30,000 is invested in a charging station like the one opened in Bucharest and another EUR 5,000 – EUR 15,000 is required to connect the stations to the power grid, said Alexandru Teodorescu, one of Renovatio’s shareholders, a renewable energy company.

Kaufland has also bought 18 electric Volkswagen Golf cars for an average price of EUR 30,000, 15 of which will be donated to local NGOs, the retailer has announced. Let’s do it Romania, Habitat for Humanity and Hospice Casa Sperantei were the first to receive them.

Romanians bought 495 electric and hybrid cars last year, double as many as in 2014. In the first two months of this year another 74 were have been registered, up by 90 percent against the same period last year, according to company data.