Pod Point rebrands to Pod; launches charging subscription
For an upfront cost of £99 and a monthly subscription fee of £40, subscribers will receive a Solo 3S charger, installation to their home, and a 48-hour Service Level Agreement. No additional tariff will be charged beyond the customer’s home energy bills and the subscription fee.
Pod states that all customers will have to do is plug their vehicle in at home, and it will be smart charged to a target level by a specified time such as 100% by 7AM. Pod will then also provide cashback to customers covering ‘smart-charged’ miles at a rate of 2.3p per mile up to either 5000 or 7500 miles per year, which the company states could result in an annual payout of more than £170.
One of Pod’s main claims is that signing up to Pod Drive will cut up-front installation costs for a charger “from £1,249 to £99”. Examining Pod’s existing website, it shows that the company offers a tethered 7kW Solo 3S charger for £1,149 including installation. Adding surge protection costs an additional £100, so that’s £1249 – although Pod has not confirmed whether Pod Drive includes this additional extra. Then, there’s the monthly charging cost of £14.37, which paid over three years costs around ~£517. The Pod website states that brings up the total cost of buying upfront to £1766.50.
Looking at the webpage for Pod Drive, it shows that the subscription entails a three year agreement (36 months). If you pay £40 per month for three years and pay the £99 feasibility fee, then the total cost of the charger over the lifetime of the agreement hits £1540 in total. So, it’s still cheaper than buying a charger up front.
Pod states that buying one of its chargers nets you a 5-year limited warranty and a 10 day average response for service, whereas Pod Drive provides a lifetime warranty and a 48hr guarantee. But, the critical element here is that Pod Drive is essentially a lease agreement, and if you cancel your subscription, you won’t get to keep the charger.
Pod CEO Melanie Lane said: “Pod Drive takes the hassle and complexity out of going electric and removes significant barriers in the form of upfront costs. As the original innovator in electric charging, we are constantly working hard to make life with an EV easy for drivers. Our EV charging heritage means we are well placed to help households shift to clean energy in a way that also helps the UK’s electricity grid.”
Laine added: “Pod Drive is only the first of a number of everyday electrification propositions we are developing as we expand from providing chargers to helping busy households with all their charging needs. With over 250,000 customers already trusting us to be at the heart of their EV life, we see Pod playing a leading role in the UK’s increasingly electrified future.” In a press release, Pod outlined some of these propositions, including a plan to develop its partnership with Tesco to sync drivers’ charging data across home and public charging points, as well as offering Pod Drive to OEMs such as Mazda for their customers.
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