South Korean car maker Kia has agreed deals with BP Chargemaster and Pod Point to offer customers cheaper home charging points. The company has also reached an agreement with BP Chargemaster to provide two-year subscriptions to public charging stations for new car buyers.
Both agreements will see Kia electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) owners get “preferential” prices for 7 kW smart chargers and installation. Once the government’s £350 Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) grant has been taken into account, a Pod Point charging point will cost Kia owners £509, while an equivalent BP Chargemaster point works out at £549. Those prices are respectively £20 and £60 cheaper than the RRPs.
According to Kia, the home chargers allow drivers to benefit from lower electricity costs at night, when the demand placed on the grid is lower. The company claims some energy tariffs will allow drivers to charge a Soul EV – a car with a 280-mile range – for “as little as £3”.
The two products both come with three-year warranties and the ability to connect to the internet, allowing ‘smart’ functionality. That means both chargers include smartphone apps that allow the user to control the charging point.
For the Pod Point charger, the connected technology allows it to automatically manage charging speed to balance the electrical load and receive over-the-air software updates that can unlock new features. Drivers can also use the Pod Point App to access the company’s public charging bays without membership fees or a subscription.
The BP Chargemaster charge point, meanwhile, comes with a free Smartcharge app to manage the home charging point. It also comes with 24/7 customer support, available 365 days of the year, as well as the two years of Polar Plus subscription, which normally costs £188 over that two-year period. The system allows customers to access free or discounted charging at more than 7,000 UK public chargers.
“With our range of PHEVs and full BEVs growing at such a rate, it’s important that our customers have access to quality charging solutions at home to ensure they are making the best use of their vehicles, being able to charge frequently, quickly and economically,” said David Hilbert, Marketing Director at Kia Motors’ UK operation. “With Pod Point and BP Chargemaster, we believe we have an attractive proposition to complement our range of class-leading plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.”
More Kia news:
