Vehicle logistics firm Gefco is installing 290 charge points at its compounds in Europe, supporting deliveries of electric cars to end-customers.

A total of 145 new charging stations will be up and running by the end of 2021 at 23 Gefco compounds in eight European countries

The €7m (£5.9m) project, now entering its final phase, will help carmakers ensure vehicles are charged before delivery to customers and dealers. This will resolve new supply chain challenges in the switch to electric and is claimed to be a unique service.

A total of 145 new charging stations, each with two charge points, will be up and running by the end of 2021 at 23 Gefco compounds in eight European countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and the UK. The UK chargers will be located at Gefco’s facilities in Sandtoft and Sheerness.

Albert Bouchoucha, director of industrial car flows at Gefco, said: “The transition to greener fuel requires major investments in new infrastructure. These new EV charging stations will provide a welcome boost to EV manufacturers and dealerships, and we’re delighted to be helping our customers adapt to demand, true to our ‘Partners, unlimited’ culture.”

The charge points have been made to order by French charging provider firm e-Totem and are being supplied in a mix of 50kW DC rapid chargers and 22kW AC fast chargers. They feature touch-screen, multilingual controls and can be tracked via smartphone by the Gefco teams, who can also invoice the exact cost of the energy used to charge the vehicles.

Hervé Sonneville, CEO e-Totem, commented: “We’re delighted to have worked with Gefco on this project, bringing customised, 100% French-designed and -manufactured electric vehicle charging stations to sites across Europe. Since the first days of our company in 2012, we’ve continually innovated and adapted our solutions to our customers’ needs.”