Walmart EV Charging Network - Finally Under Construction!

[macarose]

I have actually been enjoying this for over five years.

There is a Level 2 charger at a bank that is a few hundred feet from Walmart.

It offers free Level 2 charging for two hours. We will often take two cars. We will visit other nearby places and then come back and shop at Walmart before picking up the vehicle.

 

[y_p_w]

A lot of people spend the night in Walmart parking lots. They allow it. I think charging overnight at Walmart is a super smart idea if you're on a roadtrip.

Not around here. And they're increasingly putting up no overnight parking signs. But for EV charging paid for by the customer, I guess they would consider that to be a legitimate use of the space while it's charging. Even outside of store hours.

 

[andrew_j]

And EV customers with higher expendable incomes tend to charge at home.

I think this is going to attract the $199/mo EV lease customers who are dipping their toes into the EV pond because their Nissan Altima died.

The only time I understand people use these chargers are travelers.

 

[ME_Andy]

Lot easier to navigate to a Walmart than a charger...

 

[Torrid]

The only time I understand people use these chargers are travelers.

That's the only time I've used them. I did it for 3 weeks in a hotel. It made things easy enough but if my only option was public charging all the time I wouldn't have an EV.

 

[UncleDave]

Travelers want a charger thats as close as possible to a freeway offramp, they have little interest in driving into town while on a road trip.

Apartment dwellers are a different thing entirely.
They will suck up just about any and every in town tap they can look up on a map.
They are the target for these.

We'll see this more and more, and ultimately charge points will overtake nozzles by a great degree. They already have if you count home charging.

You've got a captive audience thats going to be open to doing something for 10-30 minutes. A quick run in for a snack, a bio break, and whatever you need for the upcoming week you are out of will ultimately result in some money on the counter from a very high % of customers using these chargers.

 

[alarmguy]

@UncleDave
At least for now, CA residents have to remember that EVs are sparse in many areas of the country. Charging at Walmart was never an issue when we lived in South Carolina 2 years ago. The chargers in the parking lot were always available. This particular Walmart was right off of interstate i26 in Columbia SC

In our new coastal area there are around 4 available at the beach. Actually a reason to have one because even there, when there is no place to park, many times an open EV spot is available.

Keep in mind there are close to 300 Million vehicles registered in the USA we have a long way to go. But CA tops every state for EVs
Just something to keep in mind, your used to seeing EVs on the road, we see them and its not unusual but you can easily go out for the day and not see one. I firmly believe Lithium batteries will be replaced by something else to maybe better said. No one in this forum will be alive on the day battery powered EV penetration hits 50%... our grid cant handle it. Why I believe H2 or something else will be the thing should we continue the insanity of discontinuing fossil fuels and that isnt happening even if they want it to for another 100 years.

Source https://afdc.energy.gov/data

 

[UncleDave]

@UncleDave
At least for now, CA residents have to remember that EVs are sparse in many areas of the country. Charging at Walmart was never an issue when we lived in South Carolina 2 years ago. The chargers in the parking lot were always available. This particular Walmart was right off of interstate i26 in Columbia SC

In our new coastal area there are around 4 available at the beach. Actually a reason to have one because even there, when there is no place to park, many times an open EV spot is available.

Keep in mind there are close to 300 Million vehicles registered in the USA we have a long way to go. But CA tops every state for EVs
Just something to keep in mind, your used to seeing EVs on the road, we see them and its not unusual but you can easily go out for the day and not see one. I firmly believe Lithium batteries will be replaced by something else to maybe better said. No one reason this forum will be alive on the day EV penetration hits 50%... our grid cant handle it.

View attachment 262037
Source https://afdc.energy.gov/data

I travel everywhere and I agree with you on where they are penetrated.
I saw more than I expected to in Laporte Indiana , Bloomington and Indianapolis last week.
They are coming.

EV %'s will grow over time regardless of the underlying battery chemistry.

Autos are way down the worry list of grid load - Data centers spurred by every increasing computational needs for stuff like AI, electronic currencies handily outstrip the expected EV load.

We'll figure out the grid like we always have. We're good at selling and providing services as a country.

 

[alarmguy]

I travel everywhere and I agree with you on where they are penetrated.
I saw more than I expected to in Laporte Indiana , Bloomington and Indianapolis last week.
They are coming.

EV %'s will grow over time regardless of the underlying battery chemistry.

Autos are way down the worry list of grid load - Data centers spurred by every increasing computational needs for stuff like AI, electronic currencies handily outstrip the expected EV load.

We'll figure out the grid like we always have. We're good at selling and providing services as a country.

My contention would be that battery EVs are not sustainable and I am not even sure there is a strong case to switch.
It should be whatever the buyer wants.

I do agree as I posted, it is possible to innovate the grid to handle things but that will take 100 years. One must ask, if you think it can be done sooner. The public will revolt at the cost, actually its already happening and we are not out of the gate.

 

[UncleDave]

My contention would be that battery EVs are not sustainable and I am not even sure there is a strong case to switch.
It should be whatever the buyer wants.

I do agree as I posted, it is possible to innovate the grid to handle things but that will take 100 years. One must ask, if you think it can be done sooner. The public will revolt at the cost, actually its already happening and we are not out of the gate.

The good news is you don't have to buy anything you dont want.

No one else is forced either and can pick what works best for them.

One is free to gamble on engines and transmissions/drivetrains gasoline and oil, or batteries and electrons.

The grid gets modded at the pace the paying customers show up for. It follows the money.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Someone cut all the plugs off the Tesla chargers at one stop in our area. Walmart usually has a tough crowd. Hope the chargers survive.

 

[alarmguy]

Someone cut all the plugs off the Tesla chargers at one stop in our area. Walmart usually has a tough crowd. Hope the chargers survive.

Just the plug or the whole extension wire?
In some areas they steal the wire to sell the copper in it.

 

[JHZR2]

And EV customers with higher expendable incomes tend to charge at home.

I think this is going to attract the $199/mo EV lease customers who are dipping their toes into the EV pond because their Nissan Altima died.

I’ve used the 350kW chargers at wal marts when I’ve had EV rentals. Mainly Mercedes cars were using them!

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Just the plug or the whole extension wire?
In some areas they steal the wire to sell the copper in it.

There was some wire remaining, not like they were trying to rip it all out. I was guessing the connector is worth something??

 

[y_p_w]

There was some wire remaining, not like they were trying to rip it all out. I was guessing the connector is worth something??

Unlikely. If Tesla needs to repair them they're not going to buy a bunch of salvage ones. I don't know of any way to repair them. They do seem to be the same at Superchargers and with the Mobile Connector. But it's a unique setup that's mostly plastic and maybe some electronics.

 

[GrumpyCat]

The most successful retail chain in the world. Walmart knows it’s customer base.
It’s silly to say an electric car chargers would not be a customer of Walmart.

You'd think so, but I've watched Walmart fumble many times. We have a number of Walmart locations which have closed. Others were opened not too far away.

Call me crazy but in this forum, I keep hearing about how cheap it is to run electric cars. So that would sound like a significant portion of the population looks to save money in Walmart too.

Yes but an EV is only break-even when one has to pay public charger rates for fuel. Commonly $0.39/kWh here when I pay $0.113/kWh at home.

 

[GrumpyCat]

A lot of people spend the night in Walmart parking lots. They allow it. I think charging overnight at Walmart is a super smart idea if you're on a roadtrip.

The 400kW chargers mentioned are 10-15 minute charge.

Overnight one prefers an L2 connection (is not a charger) providing something like 240VAC 40A to the EV. This will put 30-40 miles of range into the battery every hour. Hardware costs $500 plus installation.

 

[alarmguy]

You'd think so, but I've watched Walmart fumble many times. We have a number of Walmart locations which have closed. Others were opened not too far away.

I understand what you are saying. That is on a micro level though. Its growth, income in the retail business is matched by nothing in the world.
I graduated in the 1970s. If I bought Walmart stock, just $5,000 worth is worth $75,000,000 (75 million today)
Me slow to the gate *LOL* waited until 2019 to buy it and even since that day in 2019, through Covid it still shined even.
Walmart stock is now worth 300% more than I paid for it approx 6 years ago. This is why I like the company*LOL*

Even more impressive is their current CEO who, when still in school many years back, he used to unload Walmart trucks part time.
This is some of their latest news, though I am not a fan of the source. I do sometimes looks at their business news.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/23/business/walmart-manager-pay-raise/index.html

What I am saying is, besides the "stigma" in some areas. People of all income levels shop at Walmart so if only wealthy people buy EVs (which some in here implied) the chargers will still be used.

 

[alarmguy]

Shopping center parking lots around here have had chargers for years. Hospitals and clinics, you name it.
Wally World will have beater Civics and Corollas to drop dead gorgeous German cars in their lots. They are a little late to the charger installations, but they have been there for awhile now.

Of course I charge at home so I don't really pay attention.

Yeah, it might surprise you to know that Walmart in Columbia, South Carolina has had public charging for maybe five years now. I can’t remember exactly when but we moved from there two years ago and I know they were in the parking lot for at least one to two years before we moved

 

[Brons2]

My contention would be that battery EVs are not sustainable and I am not even sure there is a strong case to switch.
It should be whatever the buyer wants.

I do agree as I posted, it is possible to innovate the grid to handle things but that will take 100 years. One must ask, if you think it can be done sooner. The public will revolt at the cost, actually its already happening and we are not out of the gate.

It was also said a while back that the grid could not handle the demand of every house in the South having AC.
Well guess what, it's pretty much ubiquitous now.

I'm not suggesting wishful thinking that it's just going to magically happen. But supply will come online in response to demand.