For many EV owners, BP is seen as the evil petroleum supplier that is being superseded by the electrification of the transport industry. We’re all pretty familiar with stopping at BP service stations along the freeways and refueling out cars and bodies.
When these pictures emerged of a BP EV recharging location in the UK, I had to find out more. The fast chargers are from ABB and deliver power at a healthy rate of 150kW. The two in the picture are from a BP at Cranford in the UK, with the pictures shared by the BP Chargemaster twitter account.
It seems BP are attempting a shift in business model. As the popularity of electric vehicles grow, the demand on their existing product will decrease.
This means they’re starting early on the challenge of getting consumers to think of the brand as an energy supplier. Previously the source was dead dinosaurs, while it’ll now switch to more of an energy provider, leveraging their vast service station real estate assets to continue to draw customers.
It’s a bold move and one that makes sense if they want to be in business in 50 years.
BP Chargemaster has a network of more than 7,000 electric vehicle charging points and have now turned on the first of 400 ultra-fast chargers. These will appear across BP service stations over the next few years.
If you’re interesting in watching the transition, then make sure you follow their Twitter account, or get more information at their website – https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/who-we-are/keep-advancing/not-business-as-usual.html
