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Walmart Begins Building Out Nationwide EV Charging Network Across America (yahoo.com) 68

Posted by EditorDavid from the charging-ahead dept.
Walmart, the world's largest retailer, will be adding spaces for electric vehicle charging to parking lots in 19 different states, reports MLive: The move follows up on a plan announced in 2023 to build a network of charging stations at Walmart and Sam's Club stores throughout the U.S... "With a store or club located within 10 miles of approximately 90% of Americans, we are uniquely positioned to deliver a convenient charging option that will help make EV ownership possible whether people live in rural, suburban or urban areas," wrote Walmart Senior Vice President of Energy Transformation, Vishal Kapadia in 2023. Walmart plans to have the nationwide network operating by 2030.

Walmart plans to have the nationwide network operating by 2030.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader Geoffrey.landis for sharing the news.
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Walmart Begins Building Out Nationwide EV Charging Network Across America More

Walmart Begins Building Out Nationwide EV Charging Network Across America

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  • Just so they can say they are in 19 states.

    • Re:Probably one station per state (Score:5, Informative)

      by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Sunday February 01, 2026 @04:51PM (#65962930)

      Just so they can say they are in 19 states.

      There are over 4,500 Wallmart stores in America. Over 10,000 worldwide.

      Do the per-state math. I'm pretty sure they're well beyond the playground look-at-me antics of "just so they can say".

      Besides, it's a test. Walmart cares about profits. Every time. If it's not profitable, they'll get rid of it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mjwx ( 966435 )

        Just so they can say they are in 19 states.

        There are over 4,500 Wallmart stores in America. Over 10,000 worldwide.

        Do the per-state math. I'm pretty sure they're well beyond the playground look-at-me antics of "just so they can say".

        Besides, it's a test. Walmart cares about profits. Every time. If it's not profitable, they'll get rid of it.

        This is basically how it ended up in the UK. Charging stations end up in supermarket car parks. 3-5 of them owned by a 3rd party who rent the space from the supermarket, only 1 or 2 working at any given time as the 3rd party nor the supermarket give a crap once they've been installed (government subsidies were for installation, not maintenance).

        Wallmart is likely making a deal with a 3rd party to install their chargers in Walmart locations and collect the rent. It's an easy win for Walmart as they don't

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Shmoe ( 17051 )

        This is going to be like gas for the convenience store -- a loss leader to get people into the brick and mortar.

    • Re:Probably one station per state (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Smidge204 ( 605297 ) on Sunday February 01, 2026 @05:00PM (#65962946) Journal

      Many (most?) WalMarts already have Electrify America charging spots. They are simply cutting out the third party.

      This could potentially be good since WalMart would now be directly responsible for maintenance of the equipment, and if they are unavailable it reflects poorly on them directly.
      =Smidge=

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Shmoe ( 17051 )

        Better equipment too.. Alpitronic makes a beast of a unit.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by tbords ( 9006337 )

        Many (most?) WalMarts already have Electrify America charging spots. They are simply cutting out the third party.

        This could potentially be good since WalMart would now be directly responsible for maintenance of the equipment, and if they are unavailable it reflects poorly on them directly. =Smidge=

        I'd add in that it's much more likely to have EV chargers at WalMart if they own them outright.

  • What's the actual play here for Walmart? There doesn't seem to be enough market penetration for EVs (especially not in "rural America") for the investment to be worth it, unless Walmart plans on using the charging stations for their own vehicles somehow.

    • Re:Kinda weird (Score:5, Insightful)

      by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Sunday February 01, 2026 @04:44PM (#65962920)

      What's the actual play here for Walmart? There doesn't seem to be enough market penetration for EVs (especially not in "rural America") for the investment to be worth it, unless Walmart plans on using the charging stations for their own vehicles somehow.

      I'm guessing that customers of Wal-Mart stay in that store at least XX minutes. And XX minutes was calculated to be profitable at XX charging rates.

      On top of the profit in the store. Hell, they might even consider EV charging a free service with a receipt over XX dollars.

      Wal-Mart cares about profit. Not politics. If guns aren't a profitable department, they get rid of them. If they're profitable, then they carry them. Plain and simple. We've seen the entire spectrum in stores. From no guns to gun store jealously. All depends on sales.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Wal-Mart cares about profit. Not politics.

        Exactly. And they see at the very least a close -to break-even here if they are doing it now.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        That's how it works in the UK with supermarkets installing charging. Particularly for people who can't charge at home, they go there to grab some electrons and do the weekly shop at the same time. Same as they would fill their fossil car up after shopping, only more convenient since they don't have to stand around waiting for it.

      • Does Walmart have a cafe or something?

        If yes, thats something they can make money from while someone is charging the EVs.

        No idea what Walmart has, since I have not seen one (not an American).

    • Long-term profit and market dominance are the goals, based on "If you build it, they will come."

      Cover the store roof in solar panels, and perhaps the parking bays themselves (as is now mandatory in France for open-air car-parks with more than ~60 spaces). Couple that with a load of battery storage, and you've got a perpetual resource* you can charge for that only costs the depreciation on the infrastructure.

      Then maybe add in a deal where you get a minute of free charge for every $10 you spend...

      Finally, put

    • Re:Kinda weird (Score:5, Insightful)

      by korgitser ( 1809018 ) on Sunday February 01, 2026 @05:02PM (#65962948)

      If the Chinese EVs get in, they'll wipe the floor with the US car market. Walmart is getting ready.

      Walmart itself might certainly plan for an EV fleet, too.

      And the gambit here might be that they are uniquely positioned to become the replacement for a gas station. They have good presence everywhere, they're already hooked up to reasonable power, they are one of the common places to where people actually take the trips to, and maybe most importantly, they are the one place where people don't mind the 30min charging time, because they will be busy doing the groceires.

      • Walmart might sell Chinese EVs. The little ones that go for $5K in China and are basically mobility scooters on steroids.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          Once the Orange Idiot is impeached or his term expires, Big Oil will have lost its sock puppet and EVs will be a viable vehicle for purchase again.

          Many families will have an EV daily driver for short trips and an ICE for hauling lumber or visiting grandma in a neighboring state. Use each vehicle for its strengths until the ICE vehicle wears out. By then the charging network and battery chemistry will have eliminated range anxiety.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        If the Chinese EVs get in, they'll wipe the floor with the US car market. Walmart is getting ready.

        Yep. Given the upcoming recession and given that Chinese EVs are pretty decent now, people will want to buy these. Also because many will not have much choice. And anybody that continues to block those imports will lose a lot of votes. Not from the hardcore "useful idiots", but there are enough others.

    • Re:Kinda weird (Score:5, Insightful)

      by leonbev ( 111395 ) on Sunday February 01, 2026 @07:08PM (#65963156) Journal

      I'd imagine that they'll eventually offer discounted EV charging rates if you're a Walmart+ member. They've been trying to get me to join that service for years, but the perks just aren't good enough. One of the perks is a 10 cents a gallon discount on gas, but none of the Walmart's in my area have gas pumps. I'd imagine that it has to be cheaper to set up EV charging stalls then it is to build a gas station.

      Sure, almost nobody in Idaho wants an EV charger at their local Walmart, but I'll bet that they would in California.

      • It would be great if Mountain Home's Walmart had a fast charge option(does it?). I bet once the casino goes in, that place will definitely have charging available. MH makes a good stopping spot between Boise and Twin Falls, so it would be a good spot for chargers so people felt less range anxious, given the distances at play here.

        P.S. Just looked it up, and Electrify America is actually available there now.

        As you say though, a lot of Idahoans will treat an EV as a political statement. EV range in winter usu

    • Reselling electricity at three times the price is the play.

    • You sure? Walmart already often has Electric America charging stations installed and those regularly see a lot of use. Lines aren't uncommon. Not to mention, having chargers at your store means you have customers charging their car which can take at least 20 minutes, usually more. Customers that may decide to do something while killing time....like shop at the store you're already in the parking lot of. I primarily charge at home, but on road trips I primarily use Electrify America due to being on a fr
    • Did not see if they are charging for it or if it is free. If charging then just a profit center like gas stations. Or if the larger stores a way of getting people in do some shopping, eat at an in house restaurant so spend more money as others have said.
      will also be used as PR and ads.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      They already will have everything on site, so the biggest cost factor (running cables) is not there for them. Probably already worthwhile for the people that go shopping while their EV charges. And the non-stupid part of the population will buy more and more EVs.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by shilly ( 142940 )

        I'd have thought the biggest expense was digging trenches to run cables to the charging bays. Sure, they have electricity on site, but they've got to get it to the bays themselves. Trenching is quite expensive work.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gweihir ( 88907 )

          The biggest expense is the "last mile", which can be quite a few miles. On their sites, they can locate the chargers where they fit best, down to just having to drill a few holes or put some cables in already existing covered trenches. I do not know what design Walmart is using for their high-power feeds, but they will know.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by shilly ( 142940 )

            I meant the biggest expense that will fall to the charger operators, rather than to the system as a whole.

            I just don’t buy the argument that the cables supplying store power etc will be conveniently located to enable charger deployment just by drilling a few holes. You have to run the charger cables from the site’s electrical room or transformer, and that’s going to be a distance of dozens to hundreds of metres. I wish it weren’t the case, but it really is.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by gweihir ( 88907 )

              The fact of the matter is that Walmart has all the building plans and all the electrical plans and decided that it makes sense.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by shilly ( 142940 )

                Of course. I'm just saying that trenching will still be the biggest component of costs, followed by site prep (eg upgrading electricity rooms) and hardware.

  • The new "free parking". (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Ostracus ( 1354233 ) on Sunday February 01, 2026 @04:36PM (#65962912) Journal

    Basically the same lesson gas stations learned a long time ago. The fuel gets you there, the store makes the money. Three trends converging.

    Economic pressure fewer trips, more consolidation
    Quiet electrification hybrids/PHEVs everywhere
    Retail real estate adapting parking lots become energy infrastructure

  • 5 or 10 years ago, this was a smart move. Charging times were slower and people had time on their hands to wander around a store. Now everyone is getting into the charging game, at the same time EV sales are plummeting in the US.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by shilly ( 142940 )

      I think the modelling assumption is that the long term sales trend is inexorably up, no matter what happens in the next couple of years. Given how hard-nosed Walmart is, there's zero chance that they've modelled based on vibes or ideology, and so I actually take this as a quite bullish indicator on the future of EV sales in the US.

  • Again, no love for the hydrogen powered cars. Let's build out electric vehicle charging stations to cater to the cult of Tesla where you can also gobble up their driving data.

    • Tesla isn't the only player anymore - even in the US.

      • Tesla isn't the only player anymore - even in the US.

        And of course Tesla has taken on quite a political tinge.
        A Tesla car used to be a cool gadget, now is it is becoming a sort of statement.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Tesla was never the only player.

    • Most modern cars a very likely already sending all sorts of telemetry about your car's driving habits. I would be more surprised if there is a car manufacturer that isn't doing this, minus maybe Slate, which I don't think we can even buy yet.

    • Hydrogen is very difficult to use and extremely dangerous.
      At between 18.3% and 59% hydrogen in air the mix is explosive. No other flammable substance has that broad of a range of explosive mix. Hydrogen is extremely easy to ignite compared to even gasoline vapor.
      Hydrogen requires either cryogenic or extreme pressure to store any meaning full amounts.
      Hydrogen makes metals brittle and can leach through all but the best seals.
      Hydrogen is a nightmare to transport and to transfer

      Consider the https://en. [wikipedia.org]
  • But better now than never. The whole world is going EV. First you need recharging stations. Then maybe American car manufacturers can learn to make EVs from the Chinese.

    • Or South Korea. EVs from Hyundai and Kia IMHO are quite good; I prefer the Kia Niro over the Tesla Model 3 in damn near every way (except for the in-car nav), even more so now that I can charge the Kia at Superchargers.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by batkiwi ( 137781 )

        Hyundai's Ioniq series (5 specifically) is amazing. Kia EV6 is also quite strong.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by shilly ( 142940 )

          Between them, they have tons of excellent EVs. The Inster is great and very cleverly done, and the Genesis GV60 is lovely inside

  • I thought this was quite funny:
    "Here's how simple it is to charge up at Walmart: ...
    Open the Walmart app, scan the QR code, choose your connector confirm & pay."

    So: not very simple then. It's 2026, and you can't even sort out contactless payments, Walmart? Really? Wny are you making people muck around opening apps and scanning QR codes? Oh, that's right: because you don't support Apple Pay or Google Pay, including in your app. What a stupid, anti-consumer decision that was.

    • Failing to support apple pay or google pay is smart -- you don't want to be dependent on the vagaries and greed of some third party.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by shilly ( 142940 )

        Smart for them, shit for consumers. Are you saying they shouldn't rely on Visa, Mastercard and Amex too? And why does this apply only to payment processing? Surely they shouldn't be dependent on third parties for any of their critical business functions, then? No use of third party logistics, heat and light and electricity and water and property assets and refrigeration and of course all the actual stuff they sell.

  • Walmart plans to have the nationwide network operating by 2030.

    Walmart plans to have the nationwide network operating by 2030.

    By when now?

  • My local walmart has been disrupted by this for months. Not clear why it takes months to install chargers, except probably the electric company drags its feet.

    This makes perfect sense: they have plenty of unused parking because people now get stuff delivered or picked for them, so parking dwell time is nil. However, I find it hard to believe that it will bring EV drivers into the store. But maybe.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by tbords ( 9006337 )

      My local walmart has been disrupted by this for months. Not clear why it takes months to install chargers, except probably the electric company drags its feet.

      This makes perfect sense: they have plenty of unused parking because people now get stuff delivered or picked for them, so parking dwell time is nil. However, I find it hard to believe that it will bring EV drivers into the store. But maybe.

      This largely depends on price and speed. I drive a 2018 Bolt EV. If I'm lower on charge, I can easily sit there for 45-60 minutes. Reduce the speed of the charger and it can be comparable for others. Now reduce the price of the charger and the speed doesn't matter as much. You may as well shop for your necessities at the same time so you'll get multiple things done at once.

  • Just got the email today from Chargepoint that they will be charging session fees starting in March.
    I will avoid them to the extent possible. And luckily, for most of my driving, I can.

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