Gouda - Royal Imtech N.V. (IM-AE, technical services provider in and outside Europe) announces that it will be installing a high-tech network of intelligent charging points at the home addresses of owners of the new Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid and at all Toyota dealers in the Netherlands. Between 1,300 and 2,500 charging points are expected to be installed at the homes of owners in 2012, and 117 double charging points at Toyota dealers. The network is part of Toyota's charging service, which is included in the sale price of a new hybrid car, and is the first large-scale network for electric vehicles in the Netherlands.

René van der Bruggen, CEO Imtech: 'Various initiatives are set to take off soon in the European market for intelligent networks. One of these is the installation of manufacturer-specific networks for drivers and for dealers. In this way car manufacturers can substantially increase their service to drivers, and a major hurdle to buying electric or hybrid cars will be removed. Imtech has special roll-out teams that are able to implement this kind of large-scale network quickly, in a client-friendly manner and to high quality standards. This job will be a first-class example to other car manufacturers.'

Quick and easy administration
The roll-out has been commissioned by The New Motion, developer and supplier of charging products for electric cars, and partner of Toyota importer Louwman & Parqui in the roll-out of charging infrastructure in the Netherlands. Imtech's technical specialists will be placing the charging points on drivers' property or, after obtaining permission from the municipality concerned and/or the owner, on public property. The charger minutely registers when and for how long the car battery is being charged, which makes it very easy for the driver to keep track of these details, so they can, for example, submit them to an employer or the taxman.

Growth in number of charging points
Imtech and The New Motion foresee rapid growth in the number of charging points. It will be of key importance that coordination and data registration processes are properly set up. In this way charging points could become commodities. Imtech is using its own job-specific management system to facilitate this.