Walmart Announces Plan To Expand Electric Vehicle Charging Network

[Tooney]

As our customers and members continue to look for ways to save money and live better, I am excited to announce our plans at Walmart and Sam’s Club in the U.S. to make electric vehicle (EV) ownership more accessible, reliable, convenient and affordable for them across the country. By 2030, we intend to build our own EV fast-charging network at thousands of Walmart and Sam’s Club locations coast-to-coast. This would be in addition to the almost 1,300 EV fast-charging stations we already have available at more than 280 U.S. facilities.

https://corporate.walmart.com/newsr...n-to-expand-electric-vehicle-charging-network

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[TYKHAAAN]

Yeah…nothing against Walmart but that’s not what I’m exactly looking for, is more chargers at Walmarts. EA chargers there tend to be in the worst spots and i always feel like I’m showing off or something, showing up to Walmart in a Porsche. I do appreciate them trying tho. Maybe other stores will catch on and do the same.

 

[DerekS]

Are they planning to kick out EA, I wonder?

And I agree, I hate touring the Walmarts of America on road trips.

 

[Bill33525]

From Georga to Virginia on I-95 every EA stop is at a Walmart, except maybe Sheetz in NC. Wife hates those places. Monitoring PlugShare for "coming soon" stations I don't see any super fast charging statons going in. It's going to be a while before a nicer EV charging stop happens on the east coast.

 

[DerekS]

There’s something about visiting a dozen Wal Marts in a 24hr period that affected my worldview.

They are all exactly the same.

It gave me this sense that the world is controlled by the billionaire class, dropping prefabricated WalMart and McDonalds wherever people are concentrated.

It made me feel like an ant in an ant farm.

 

[Tooney]

Very happy to have plug & charge DC fast charging at Walmarts, and any other easily accessibile and spacious locations that will host them. I hope the additional Walmart fast charging will support Taycan plug & charge.

 

[Chief]

I drove from Palm Springs to Chicago in my Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo. I became a Walmart fan. Chargers were generally easy to find and a little exercise to the front of the store was probably a good thing (maybe not in bad weather); relatively clean and easily accessible washrooms (in the front of every store), snacks and such at great prices vs. inflated prices and many (sadly not all) very near freeways/interstates so better than the "Quickee Mart". What's not to like -- at least in 2023. Hopefully it is a much different paradigm in 2033...and I am around to see it.

 

[daveo4EV]

Very happy to have plug & charge DC fast charging at Walmarts, and any other easily accessibile and spacious locations that will host them. I hope the additional Walmart fast charging will support Taycan plug & charge.

current Taycan implementation of Plug&Charger can only support EA…there is no multi-vendor/multi-network support as of yet - there is a proposed specification but that will require adoption by both the charging stall vendors and the vehicle manufacturers

I wouldn't hold my breath≥

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

current Taycan implementation of Plug&Charger can only support EA…there is no multi-vendor/multi-network support as of yet - there is a proposed specification but that will require adoption by both the charging stall vendors and the vehicle manufacturers

The interesting part of the announcement is that they'll add to the existing charging stations, which made me think the "new Walmart network" will be a rebranded/white-label EA. WMT has zero interest to develop its own competing service and all that, their only goal is to draw more customers into their stores. And judging by the posts in this thread so far, it's already happening.

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