This article is more than 1 year old

Best Buy UK to flog electric cars, scooters and bikes

The greening of Thurrock

Best Buy is majoring on "Green Tech" in its first UK superstore. The Lakeside, Thurrock store opens on 30 April and will sell electric bicycles such as the GoCycle, Ultramotor, Metro and Moore & Large's iZip brands with prices starting at £399.

Best Buy will also stock the Enertia electric motorbike from August and it will house electric scooters from Xero Tech; the Urban Citi, Urban Tourer and the Classic, with prices starting at £1,499.99.

For the super-aspirational, Best Buy will "showcase" the super-fast "Tesla Roadster EV - that will cost £87,000 and it will sell the Citroen C1 ev'ie four-seater city electric car.

More prosaically, the Green Tech area will flog solar chargers for mobile phones and laptops and energy savings plugs and adaptors. In response to Best Buy's UK UK retailers are girding their loins to do battle with Best Buy. Tesco is recruiting 1,000 staff to join in-store tech teams, in a response to Best Buy's Geek Squad.

DSGi this year is to build up to 30 megastores selling consumer electronics and white goods, just like Best Buy. The company is also setting up 60 two-in-one-stores, which will combine the Curry's and PC World brands.

Best Buy's goals this year are more modest. It aims to open five UK stores this year and 80 big box shops in total, creating 8,000 jobs. But its move into electric vehicles shows that it is the one shifting the goalposts.

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like