U.S. Gas Stations, Convenience Stores Prepare for EV Drivers

Ever since Henry Ford built his first gasoline-powered horseless carriage while tinkering in a shed behind his home, America's love affair with the automobile has been built around the internal combustion engine.

Consumer, environmental, and legislative factors, however, show a sea change on the horizon as the auto industry earnestly prepares to shift production to electric vehicles (EV).

“Some of the world’s biggest companies are sending the combustion engine to the scrap heap and are pouring billions of dollars into electric motors and battery factories,” writes the Wall Street Journal in “Gas Engines, and the People Behind Them, Are Cast Aside for Electric Vehicles”. “The transition is hardly noticeable yet on showroom floors. But it is upending the automotive workplace, from the engineering ranks and supply chain to the factory floor.”

While the writing may not be noticeable yet on the showroom floor walls – with EV accounting for less than 5 percent of global vehicle sales – it is certainly in the headlines:

• Mercedes-Benz AG said it is gearing up to go all-electric by the end of the decade.
• General Motors Co. said it aims to convert nearly its entire vehicle lineup to fully electric by 2035.
• Volvo said it expected to be a fully electric car company by 2030.
• EV vanguard Tesla said its 2021 second quarter profits soared to a record $1.1 billion.

U.S. gas station and convenience store operators, who have long relied on the gas pump to attract customers, are quickly preparing for this coming shift to EV drivers.

7-Eleven to Install 500 EV Charging Ports by End 2022

Convenience store giant 7-Eleven announced in June that it would install 500 Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) ports at 250 North American locations by the end of 2022.

Unlike the fuel at 7-Eleven stations, which is purchased from supplies, the charging ports will be owned and operated by 7-Eleven.  Currently the convenience store chain only has 22 DCFC ports across 14 locations.

“Adding 500 charging ports at 250 7-eleven stores will make EV charging more convenient and help accelerate broader adoption of EVs and alternative fuels,” 7-Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto said in a company release. “We are committed to the communities we serve and to working toward a more sustainable future.”

Other Gas Stations, Convenience Stores Adding Charging Stations

7-Eleven is not the only U.S. gas station or convenience store chain to recently announce the addition of EV charging stations.

In the news are:

• Stewart’s Shops in New York State will add five new high-powered EV charging stations in conjunction with the EVolve NY fast charging network. Stewart’s Shops will now have 80 charging units total.
• On the Run convenience stores in British Columbia will get 100 new ultra-fast charging ports at 25 locations by the end of 2022.
• FastLane Convenience Store in Kingdom City will receive Missouri’s first EV charging station funded through the state’s Volkswagen Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust. Ultimately, nine locations will each have two DCFCs.

Becoming “Service Stations” Again

The National Association of Convenience Stores says 120,000 of the 150,000 C-Stores in the U.S. sell fuel.

In “The Future of Gas Stations: Do EVs Dismantle Local Pumps?”, Brian Cooley in CNet says that there are “many paths forward for gas stations, largely centered on the idea of a refreshed basket of services.”

Among the path forward:

• Adding EV charging stations
• Going digital for ordering
• Enhancing the C-Store experience with items such as premium food on-site and delivery
• Becoming a hub for Amazon locker and return

Cooley says that gas stations will need to “once again embrace the idea of “service stations” to ensure they remain relevant.”

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