Walmart’s upcoming charging network plans & first charge experience / review

[R1TCntrlMaIzzy]

ugh. by 2030? really means 2035 or never. This is just like Ionna, they claimed thousands of chargers and the have like a dozen over the last couple of years. Only network expanding rapidly is still Tesla.

Ionna - Walmart. Let’s think. Who has the space, capital and consumer research data to do this, now? I am not a Wallymart fan. But, come on Wallymart has the space, knows how EV charging might increase their rev and no doubt they will place these in visible areas, to avoid issues.

This is awesome for the adoption of EVs.

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[emoore]

Ionna - Walmart. Let’s think. Who has the space, capital and consumer research data to do this, now? I am not a Wallymart fan. But, come on Wallymart has the space, knows how EV charging might increase their rev and no doubt they will place these in visible areas, to avoid issues.

This is awesome for the adoption of EVs.

I’ll believe it when I see it. Didn’t Walmart announce this a few years ago?

 

[SANZC02]

I’ll believe it when I see it. Didn’t Walmart announce this a few years ago?

They did, they now have selected charger vendors, have some beta sites running and hired a person to run things.

Certainly seems like they are serious.

 

[runwithscissors]

I remember Sprint talking about putting cell towers on every Walmart forever ago. It's certainly welcome but there needs to be more than 4 chargers per site to make it worth it. The problem is so many people don't have charging at home and rely on these public chargers in my area. I don't know how you buy an EV and rely solely on public charging.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Doesn’t help me much. One of the worst things about charging in early ‘22 was having to go to EA stations at Walmarts. They are all a good distance off the freeway and the sites are all small and didn’t work well. I grew to loathe Walmart charging.

It makes sense for Walmart though, because charging EVs are a captive audience and most of those people will shop in the store. I never go to Walmart besides for charging so that might also be another reason I’m not too excited. With that said more options the better.

 

[Jccoryell]

I'm surprised by the positive responses. Yes, more chargers are a good thing. I just finished a 3000 mile road trip and can't understand why chargers aren't just like gas stations, i.e. Just off the highway, open 24 hours, canopy over station, window wash, pull thru, garbage cans, convenience items and clean bathrooms available to everybody. Walmart was everything but this. A real pain to slog through traffic to get to. Not open at 5am, nothing close to walk to, got rained on and no garbage cans or window wash. How is this an improvement?

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

I'm surprised by the positive responses. Yes, more chargers are a good thing. I just finished a 3000 mile road trip and can't understand why chargers aren't just like gas stations, i.e. Just off the highway, open 24 hours, canopy over station, window wash, pull thru, garbage cans, convenience items and clean bathrooms available to everybody. Walmart was everything but this. A real pain to slog through traffic to get to. Not open at 5am, nothing close to walk to, got rained on and no garbage cans or window wash. How is this an improvement?

It’s an improvement because there will be more chargers that are maintained.

While it would be great to have EV stations that mimic gas stations, it’s a ton of infrastructure spend. That being said, I have seen some stations going up that look like gas stations. I wish I could remember the name of the provider. It was in NorCal.

 

[richguess]

Most Excellent! I used the EA charger at the Needles CA Walmart (not much out there) driving from Vegas to Palm Springs. Some quick cheap shopping, and back on the road.

 

[therealcmj]

Agreed, showed there was no need for government mandates and $7B since the private sector has and can support this and be more nimble.

There were no government mandates. And important but nascent industries always get subsidies. Even established industries get constant handouts when they're considered important enough.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Good video from State of Charge YouTuber. More DC fast charging stations is a good thing.

Absolutely. Think of how many Walmarts there are across the country. My only question is, why did it take them so long?

You’ll have a captive audience for at least 15 minutes. People will come in, use the restroom, and more than likely buy something, like a drink or snacks. This is what charging stations have needed for years. Just like gas stations, the businesses don’t make money on fuel, they make it on in-store purchases.

 

[Doug]

I'm surprised by the positive responses. Yes, more chargers are a good thing. I just finished a 3000 mile road trip and can't understand why chargers aren't just like gas stations, i.e. Just off the highway, open 24 hours, canopy over station, window wash, pull thru, garbage cans, convenience items and clean bathrooms available to everybody. Walmart was everything but this. A real pain to slog through traffic to get to. Not open at 5am, nothing close to walk to, got rained on and no garbage cans or window wash. How is this an improvement?

I agree. I did see a nice charging area with a canopy at the Kwik Trip in West Salem WI. It had the canopy just like the gas pumps and washer fluid and garbage cans. It was a nice set up. They are rolling out more chargers so if they do this at a lot of locations it will be great in the Midwest.

 

[Oldcarguy]

Walmart has been a planned stop for us for many years on trips. We always seem to need a forgotten something and a lap around the store is a healthy break. This is good news.

 

[bgoleman]

Smart move by Walmart! I am amazed other retailers did not pick up on this sooner. Attracting EV users to spend 45 min in your parking lot is just going to bring more revenue to your store...

 

[Jccoryell]

It’s an improvement because there will be more chargers that are maintained.

While it would be great to have EV stations that mimic gas stations, it’s a ton of infrastructure spend. That being said, I have seen some stations going up that look like gas stations. I wish I could remember the name of the provider. It was in NorCal.

I understand the money aspect. So, why aren't more existing gas stations adding 4 to 6 chargers? Most have room for it. They already have the land, building and facilities. It's just adding the equipment, the same as Walmart or these shopping centers

 

[TigerWuxia]

This sounds promising. Charging while shopping at Walmart: win-win for both customers and Walmart.

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