Walmart Embraces EV Future: Charging Stations to Roll Out at Thousands of US Stores - Walmart (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc WMT looks to add electric vehicle charging to thousands of U.S. stores by 2030 to ride the EV adoption wave and contribute to the cause.
Walmart plans to add the fast-charging stations to Walmart and Sam’s Club stores coast-to-coast, more than quadrupling its current network of roughly 280 locations, the Washington Post reports.
Entirely EVs made up 7% of new vehicle registrations in the U.S. in January, compared with 4.1% a year earlier, according to S&P Global Mobility.
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However, EV adoption faced headwinds like concerns about high prices, sparse charging infrastructure, and the risks of road-testing new technology.
Still, Walmart thinks demand has reached a tipping point, said Vishal Kapadia, the retailer’s senior vice president of energy transformation, in an interview.
Over the last 18 to 24 months, Walmart has seen the use of its EV chargers grow “substantially,” in line with EV adoption around the country, Kapadia said.
As of January, there were 150,000 public charging ports in the U.S., up by 38,000 from the beginning of 2022, according to the Energy Department.
Kapadia said maintenance would be a top priority for Walmart’s network. The company sees EV charging as a profitable business on its own and a way to bring customers into stores, he said.
Over the years, Walmart tried to tap its giant parking lots to draw customers in other ways, including allowing recreational vehicles to park overnight.
Price Action: WMT shares traded higher by 0.47% at $150.38 on the last check Thursday.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

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