While more consumers worldwide are looking to buy electric vehicles, charging infrastructure has yet to catch up to demand.
This trend is particularly evident at U.S. retailers, many of which promised to incorporate chargers into their parking lots — only to have failed so far to deliver on that promise.
What's happening?
A study from Consumer Reports looked at retailers and fast food chains, surveying 270,000 locations to see how many offered EV charging.
The results were disappointing. Only approximately 1% of these locations — chains such as Target, Walmart, Ikea, and Costco — were found to offer charging at all. And of those that did have chargers, the number of available stations was low, generally below five.
According to Green Car Reports, the numbers were mostly comparable among the different retail categories, with department stores performing the worst. Only 7% of big-box stores, 6% of grocery stores, and 2% of department stores offered charging.
Of the department and discount stores, such as Five Below, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree, Consumer Reports concluded that they "have effectively made no investments in EV charging."
Why is a lack of retail charging stations concerning?
The switch from fossil fuels to electric to power vehicles is an important one in the fight to lower harmful pollution and prevent the dangerous warming of the planet. Yet without access to charging infrastructure, consumers can be dissuaded from making this switch.
This issue is particularly prevalent in rural America, where long distances between stations are worrisome for EV drivers. However, if the aforementioned discount stores were to install chargers, they could reach 40,000 locations directly within these rural communities.
While many of these brands tout environmentally minded values, their follow-through says otherwise.
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What's being done to change these policies?
There are multiple incentives for retailers to implement EV charging stations. According to the CR report, after a fast charger is installed, "retailers see an increase in both foot traffic (an average of 4 percent) and revenue (5 percent) as consumers shop and run errands while they charge their vehicle."
Additionally, new legislation — including the Inflation Reduction Act — has introduced rebates and subsidies for installing chargers. These could return up to $100,000 per charger to qualifying retailers.
Some brands are taking issues into their own hands. One is Walmart, which recently announced plans to build its own charging network.
But for others, government intervention may be necessary. Germany is considering a mandate to have 80% of gas stations install chargers. Boston has rolled out several new stations throughout the city, and they offer the added benefit of earning passive income for any private property owner with a fast charger.
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