Lidl will equip 20 Irish branches with charging stations

By spring 2019, Lidl aims to have installed 40 charging stations for electric cars in Ireland. For customers shopping at the discount store, the charging process will be free. Initial experiences were gathered in a trial operation at three locations – in Drogheda, Rathfarnham, and Swords. According to their own statements, Lidl is investing 150,000 euros in its Irish charging network.

This expands Lidl's charging options following the model of stores in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Furthermore, they are partnering with Mazda as a car-sharing location. Lidl is not alone in this: Aldi, Edeka, Ikea, and Rewe are also building charging technology as a means of customer retention.

What does this mean?

For Lidl customers, free charging is a clear advantage. It remains to be seen how long these offers will last: electric vehicle customers are still relatively rare. However, this could change significantly in the future.