Vestel Mobility Launches UK-Specific Consumer and Small Business Electric Vehicle Charger: The Libra

Vestel Mobility continues its ambitious drive into the UK EV Charging market with an affordable, high-spec single-phase charger exclusively for the UK market, the stylish Libra.

London, UK, Tuesday 8th October 2024: Vestel Mobility has announced a UK-specific electric vehicle charger, offering an unrivalled combination of features, performance, and value. The Libra takes the established technology from Vestel Mobility’s award-winning EV charger range across Europe to create a stylish, affordable, and ultra-reliable range of models for residential and business applications.

Fully compliant with all UK electrical and EV charger regulations, the Libra has been designed to make going electric more affordable than ever without sacrificing charging features.

The move continues to establish Vestel Mobility’s growth in the UK EV charger market by offering resellers, installers, and contractors an affordable, regulations-approved, and easy-to-install charger solution for consumer and small business customers alike.

The new UK-specific Libra is based on Vestel Mobility’s well established charger chassis and electronic design, which has been installed in over 30,000 locations across Europe and the UK on behalf of vehicle manufacturers, fuel brands, and energy providers. Vestel Mobility’s proven track record of reliability and low cost, thanks to the company's 700,000 EV charger units per year European-based manufacturing scale, has made it one of the most widely installed electric vehicle charger brands in Europe.

Depending on the variant, the Libra boasts from 7kW to 22kW charging from a single-phase or three-phase supply, tethered or plug-in options, and flexible charging scheduling via partner apps or web-browser dashboard. Wi-Fi or Ethernet connected, this compact charger is automatically kept fully up-to-date and secure against cyber-attacks, offers PEN fault detection and is fully compliant with the UK government's OZEV & EVHS schemes, as well as the latest cyber security legislation for EV chargers.

Vestel Mobility has partnered with Electric Miles, a leading provider of EV charging applications and management solutions, to deliver a comprehensive suite of tools tailored for drivers, installers, and fleet operators.

Electric Miles offers an intuitive charging management platform that simplifies everyday charging for drivers, whether at home, at work, or at a business location. For installers and small business users, the Installer Miles app streamlines the commissioning process and enables easy load management and remote charger control. For fleet managers and operators of multiple charge points, the Admin Miles app—and the soon-to-be-released Partner Miles—provides a powerful web-based solution for efficient charger management, revenue collection, and for support and troubleshooting to drive utilisation and deliver excellent charging experience.

Hakan Kutlu, CEO and General Manager of Vestel Mobility, underlined Vestel Mobility’s long-standing presence in the mobility sector, commenting, "We have made significant investments over the last 10 years, under Vestel Mobility, with the development of technologies in line with electric vehicles. Vestel has been manufacturing and exporting electric vehicle charging stations since 2017 and to date, we have installed more than 180,000 charging sockets in Türkiye and in nearly 30 countries across Europe. Vestel Mobility is now focusing on areas such as AC and DC charging stations, automotive electronics, and battery storage solutions to capture its share of this global growth market.”

The Libra leads the market in safety and convenience with its IK 10 impact rating and IP54 ingress protection, ensuring it can withstand knocks, bumps, and the worst of UK weather. It features Bluetooth and optional 4G connectivity, optional display, remote scheduling, built-in RFID reader and best-in-class 5VA-rated flame-retardant housing. For commercial premises, the 22kW three phase versions of the Libra have all the features of the single-phase units, including dynamic load management for locations with multiple chargers installed.

The launch of the Libra comes at a critical time for the UK EV industry as new car sales growth outstrips charging infrastructure roll-out, making at-home and at-work charging more important than ever.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) figures show that in the year to July 2024, BEV and hybrid vehicle new car registrations across the UK were up over 16% on the same period in 2023 (448,386 new EV registrations up from 385,826 to July 2023). During this period, battery electric vehicles (BEV) plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and Hybrids (HEV) accounted for well over a third of new cars registered at 38.8% of the UK market.

The previous UK government's ‘adjusted’ target of banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 looks set to be repealed back to 2030 by the new Labour government’s DoT, which will continue to accelerate substantial growth across the EV sector.

•            Libra Home – Type-2 socket / 7.4kW

•            Libra Home Tethered – Type-2 cable /7.4kW

•            Libra Electric Miles Home – Type-2 socket / 7.4kW / 4.3” TFT display

•            Libra 7kW Workplace – Type-2 socket / 7.4kW / 4.3” TFT display / MID meter

•            Libra 22kW Workplace – Type-2 socket / 22kW / 4.3” TFT display / MID meter / Dual Ethernet

The Libra will be available to trade and wholesale through Exertis. 

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For more images, information on Vestel, or an interview with Ali Khan, Vestel Mobility’s Head of EVC UK Sales & Business Development, on the company's plans for an electrified future of European transport, please get in touch.

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Editors notes

Vestel, part of Zorlu Holdings, is one of Europe's largest electronics and appliance manufacturers, best known for being the OEM partner behind one in every three TVs and display screens sold in Europe. Based in Manisa, Turkey, Vestel City is Europe’s biggest single-site manufacturing complex, where a dedicated EV division has been designing and manufacturing EV charging solutions for household name brands for over five years. Working towards becoming a net-zero emissions company, Vestel is leveraging its manufacturing expertise, economies of scale and European location to reduce the cost and carbon footprint of EV charging solutions.

With a production capacity of over 700,000 EV charging units per year, Vestel makes a broad range of devices, from compact chargers for home use to the largest commercial fast charging stations for enterprise businesses and public infrastructure. Alongside its own brand EV chargers, Vestel will continue to manufacture OEM charging solutions for premium electric vehicle brands, service station networks, and electricity suppliers across Europe, all “Powered by Vestel”.