McDonald’s to add electric car charging stations to drive-thru menus

Visitors to McDonald’s drive-thru restaurants in Fife might soon be able to power their cars as well as picking up some fast food.

The company has confirmed plans to create two new electric vehicle (EV) rapid chargers at its Glenrothes Queensway branch – and others are likely to follow suit in the coming months.

McDonald’s announced earlier this year that it was to team up with EV charging provider InstaVolt to introduce the charging points as standard across its new restaurants, but that commitment also aims to see them introduced at existing drive-thru restaurants within its estate where possible.

The Glenrothes Queensway restaurant has been identified as one of the latter, and a formal planning application to install the pair of charging points has now been lodged.

Paul Pomroy, McDonald’s UK & Ireland chief executive, said: “Appetite for electric vehicles, which will be a central part of the UK’s efforts to build back greener post Covid-19, is growing.

“This partnership and ambition takes advantage of our scale, and is a real step forward for those already driving electric vehicles, as well as people considering making the switch.

“With over 1300 restaurants our ambition would mean you would never be far from a charging point.

“As we look toward a return to normal service post-Covid-19, drivers will be able to pop in for a coffee or a meal and get an 80% charge in 20 minutes.

“We are known for speed and convenience, and this partnership with InstaVolt will provide just that for EV drivers.”

InstaVolt’s new rapid charging points are capable of charging at 125kW and can deliver an 80% charge in less than 20 minutes.

McDonald’s commissioned research to identify the current barriers to EV adoption, finding that more than half (54%) of people that don’t own an EV directly cite a lack of convenient charging locations as a barrier to buying one.

However, of this group, two thirds (67%) said they’d reconsider if this barrier is removed.

In addition, seven in ten (70%) said they’d worry about struggling to find a charging point mid-journey.

The partnership with InstaVolt therefore hopes to remove these barriers, bringing a new UK wide network of charging points.

By local democracy reporter Craig Smith