BP’s decision to exit the fleet depot chargepoint market has led to over 14,000 chargers being reassigned.
Chargepoint management firm Fuuse and EV infrastructure company Drax Electric Vehicles will take over the sockets, which are spread across almost 1,000 locations.
In July last year BP Pulse announced that it would exit the fleet depot charging market, though it promised to honour warranties and service agreements and said its exit from the fleet market was not indicative that it was pulling back from EV charging in a wider sense.
Instead, the firm said it would be “prioritising on-the-go charging hubs and expanding EV charging at BP forecourts” – although a senior BP staff member subsequently indicated the oil major would be “stepping back” from the all-electric forecourt model.
In February this year BP Pulse stopped supporting chargers which it “previously sold direct to wholesalers and customers”, with chargepoint owners being “responsible for finding a new chargepoint operator for charger functionality and use”.
Now, Fuuse and Drax have agreed to manage the service and maintenance of over 14,000 former BP Pulse fleet chargers, with the transition, which took a year to put together, described as “one of the largest charging infrastructure migrations the UK EV sector has seen”.
The deal means almost 1,000 companies will not have to rip out and replace thousands of chargers.
Affected customers will be emailed by BP Pulse and can then follow a link to begin their migration to the Fuuse platform.
James Chapman, strategic sales director at Fuuse comments: “Being selected as the exclusive migration partner is a huge endorsement of both our platform and our people.
“By building on our existing partnership with Drax Electric Vehicles, we’re proud to be able to provide best-in-class hardware maintenance support, while honouring existing hardware warranties.”
Adam Hall, energy services director at Drax Electric Vehicles says that “ensuring former BP Pulse fleet depot charging customers can move forward with confidence is our priority”, adding:
“With nationwide field service capability and continuity of existing hardware warranty support, we can help ensure charging infrastructure remains maintained, supported and fully operational.”
