Pod loses the point and introduces cut-price EV home charger

Electric car charging specialist Pod Point has rebranded, losing the point to become just Pod.

With the name change comes a new cut-price installation offer with a lifetime warranty linked to a monthly subscription that also promises cashback on miles driven.

Although the company is now called Pod, Pod Point-branded chargers will still exist under the umbrella company, alongside the new subscription service called Pod Drive.

The easy bit to understand is the cut-price home charging and installation of a 7kW Pod Solo 3S charger, which would normally cost £1,249 supplied and fitted and will now cost just £99 upfront.

However, the deal is linked to a Pod Drive subscription of £40 per month which not only promises a lifetime warranty (for as long as the subscription is active, with a minimum term of three years), but also a 48-hour service level agreement and cashback on miles driven when an EV has been smart charged at home.

According to Pod, customers plug in normally at home, allowing Pod to smart charge their EVs according to their energy provider’s smart charge tariff – Pod says it will work with any energy provider.

Pod customers then pay their energy bill as usual, as well as their Pod Drive subscription. Pod then provides cashback to customers to cover “smart-charged” miles at a rate of 2.3p per mile rewarding drivers with as much as 7,500 miles per year, worth £172.50.

Pod is majoring on the convenience and cost-saving of its new offering. However, over a three-year subscription period, a new Pod Drive customer will pay £1,539. With the cashback of £172.50 per year available over that three-year period, the minimum cost of a Pod Drive over three years will be £1,021 depending on miles driven. By comparison, a new premium Andersen Quartz home charger costs £1,105 fully fitted.

Pod’s new CEO Melanie Lane said, “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.

“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.”

Pod already has a relationship with Tesco, providing chargers at Tesco superstores across the country. Pod plans to extend that partnership by syncing drivers’ charging experiences across home and public charging points.