Lidl has unveiled its first 'E-Station' car charging terminal in France, at its store in Villefranche-sur-Saône.
The discounter teamed up with ABB E-mobility and Groupe DBT to develop the station, which comprises 13 parking spaces equipped with fast and ultra-fast chargers, it said.
A further three E-Stations are planned to open in December, in Landivisiau, Les Pennes-Mirabeau and Tourcoing, with a further two openings scheduled for 2023, in Nîmes and Croissy-Beaubourg.
According to Lidl France, the fast charging units at the site feature 360kw of power, and enable drivers to recover 100 kilometres of travel in approximately three minutes.
The new car charging point in Villefranche-sur-Saône opened on 21 November.
Fastest-Growing Retailer
Lidl was the fastest-growing retailer in France in October, Kantar data showed earlier this week, reporting a 0.3 percentage point increase in share to put it on 8.3% market share.
It's not the first time this year that Lidl has been the best-performing retailer in the French market – back in the summer, the discounter also reported a 0.3 percentage point increase in the period from 11 July to 7 August.
In general, the discount channel has been the biggest beneficiary of increased consumer spend in the French market, which rose 6.8% in October across all channels.
The discount channel saw a 0.6 percentage point increase in value market share in October, while proximity and online retailers grew 0.2 percentage points. The hypermarket channel, meanwhile, saw a 1.1 percentage point decline.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
