European rapid charging company Fastned has opened its latest station in the Palace Grounds Retail Park in Hamilton.
Located just off the A72 and near the M74, it claims to be Scotland’s biggest ultra-rapid charging station for electric vehicles, comprising eight chargers, each of which is supplied by 100% renewable energy.
The new station is Fastned’s 10th in the UK, opening as one in 10 new vehicles registered in Scotland throughout March were electric-powered, according to sales figures from New AutoMotive.
The station was part-funded by the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme - supported through the European Regional Development Programme.
The investment supports the Scottish Government’s commitment to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said: "Through our draft vision for the public electric vehicle charging network, we’ve outlined that public and private sector partnerships will be key in attracting investment and scaling provision at pace.
"Scotland is very much at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution and we are seeing impressive growth in uptake - we want to ensure that the public electric vehicle charging network keeps up with demand to meet the needs of people and businesses across the whole of Scotland."
Neil Swanson, director of Electric Vehicle Association Scotland, said: "The significant increase we are seeing in drivers switching to all-electric vehicles is incredible and so expanding the charging infrastructure in Scotland is vitally important to meet demand.
"The opening of facilities such as this will be yet a further incentive for owners of petrol and diesel powered vehicles to ignore the myths surrounding the lack of EV charge points and make the switch to all-electric."
Based in Amsterdam, Fastned has built 199 charging stations in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland and the UK.
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