MFG To Invest £50 Million In EV Charging Hubs in 2023

MFG installed 30% of all ultra-rapid EV hubs in the UK during 2022

Motor Fuel Group (MFG), the market leading independent forecourt operator with over 900 sites across Great Britain, is pleased to announce its extensive EV investment plan for 2023. The Company’s 2023 plans build on a successful 2022 where the Company installed 271 ultra-rapid chargers across its network, with an additional 31 hubs, plus a further 175 chargers in construction.  This forms part of its commitment to invest £400 million in EV infrastructure by 2030.

Highlights:

• £50m planned investment in EV hubs during 2023
• New hubs, opening in 2023 will provide a further 360 ultra-rapid chargers on the MFG network
• MFG has 54 hubs open throughout the UK with 271 chargers in operation
• In 2022 MFG’s EV Power network was voted the nation’s joint favourite, based on Zap Pay’s annual driver survey
• Construction has begun on 12 EV hubs during January 2023, more than the entirety of Q1 2022, demonstrating the increasing velocity of MFG’s investment

2023 EV Investment Plans

MFG has committed to spend £400 million in EV infrastructure by 2030. Following a successful start to the programme, with 20% of the £400 million investment already deployed during 2021 and 2022, the 2023 investment plan will see MFG install over 360, Ultra-Rapid 150kW EV Chargers at hubs throughout the UK.

MFG hubs will consist of between four and eight Ultra-Rapid 150kW EV Chargers per site. 150kW chargers can add 100 miles range in approximately 10 minutes, subject to the charging capability of individual car batteries.  These will be augmented with 300kW+ chargers as vehicle battery technology improves to maintain the fastest charging times across the MFG network. MFG is continues to invest ahead of the curve to build driver’s confidence in electricity as a fuel source and supporting the Government’s decarbonisation and sustainability agenda and emissions target of being net zero by 2050. During 2022, the number of electric cars on the road in the UK increased by 225k (to end of November), with expected numbers to reach 650k by the end of 2023.

Alongside its investment in EV, MFG made a £50 million investment to improve its retail, food to go, and valeting offer to the consumer.  MFG’s investment will continue in the years ahead across its UK wide network, aimed at improving customer service across its sites. The Company aims to be a hub for local communities, offering a wide range of services and shops.

Results of Zap-Map Survey

MFG has come in joint first place on the ZapMap survey and scored highly for reliability and ease of use. A link to the survey results can be found here: https://www.zap-map.com/best-worst-rated-ev-charging-networks-uk/. MFG is only in its second year as a CPO and expects to continue to invest to improve service for customers by creating EV hubs with a leading retail offering and valeting services.

MFG is committed to leading the forecourt sector in transitioning to a cleaner future, providing a significant boost to the Government’s decarbonisation and sustainability agenda and emissions target of being net zero by 2050.

Dual-Fuel Strategy

Over the coming decades, MFG will operate a dual fuel strategy, meaning it will continue to provide existing fossil fuel infrastructure whilst placing equal importance on rolling out ultra-rapid EV charging hubs. On route charging will be a particularly important infrastructure for those drivers who do not have access to ‘at home’ charging.  In England, over 60% of dwellings in cities and urban areas do not have garages or other off-road parking provisions, and so must rely on electricity from publicly accessible networks.

William Bannister, CEO, MFG, said:

“We were proud to continue our significant investment into the UK’s EV infrastructure throughout 2022, opening a record number of EV hubs across our network. Our ambition was to invest ahead of the curve, and give drivers who were contemplating purchasing an electric vehicle the confidence that they could travel as easily as with a petrol or hybrid vehicle. Although we have a way to go to achieve this, our investment in 2022 has set us on a positive trajectory. We have set ourselves another ambitious target for openings in 2023, with the plan to energise 360 chargers whilst delivering the  best experience possible for our customers.”

ENDS