Volkswagen Group announced that its subsidiary Elli (founded in early 2019) will partner with Centrica's British Gas to provide customers an option of home charging station installation in the UK.

The three-year partnership concerns home charging hardware solutions for new EV owners, but customers can also combine the installation with British Gas electric vehicle tariff to use off-peak electricity prices.

"The deal will see Elli, the central provider of charging hardware and related services for the main Volkswagen Group, work exclusively with British Gas to deliver a package of home charging installations, aftersales services and preparatory electrical upgrades across the UK. This will help customers to transition to EV smoothly and cost effectively, initially across the Volkswagen, SEAT, ŠKODA and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles with plans for Audi to join later this year. Volkswagen Group has committed to introducing 80 electric and plug-in hybrid models by 2025."

Centrica, the UK’s biggest energy company, was previously selected also by Ford.

"Centrica is working with car manufacturers, fleet owners and public bodies to support them in EV readiness, providing an EV enablement package which includes charger infrastructure, energy management, financing, and optimisation. It also offers a British Gas electric vehicle tariff that allows consumers to take advantage of off-peak electricity prices by using the car dashboard or car manufacturer’s app to schedule EV charging during the cheaper night time hours.

Sarwjit Sambhi, CEO of Centrica Consumer said:

“Getting carbon out of transport by accelerating EV adoption is critical for net zero. We’re proud to play our part by helping enable the EV transition for Volkswagen, one of the world’s most forward thinking and ambitious automotive companies. “Centrica is committed to a pathway for the energy transition in line with the Paris agreement through focusing on three things - helping our customers reduce their emissions, reducing the emissions of the energy system as a whole, and reducing our own. We made material progress on all of these during 2019 and are committed to a plan for delivering net zero by 2050.”

Alex Smith, Managing Director at Volkswagen Group UK Ltd, said: