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Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

evchargingstations.com

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Re: Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

#51
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a hard time just picking up and plugging that heavy fatass CCS connector. And then I have to try plugging it in 3 times because it waits for the car and the car waits for it and one gives up before the other succeeds.

I'm not a big dude, but I've never struggled with this.

Used an EVCE charger yesterday that my wife struggled to pick up. The cable its self was just enormous and heavy compared to more modern chargers. Hopefully they go back and retrofit older chargers with newer cables when swapping over to NACS.

Re: Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

#52

While I really hope that they do a great job with it, I have no faith in Walmart to offer an effective charging network. Doing everything on the absolute cheap leaves a lot to be desired. They were great when they were expanding and had great stores to lure you away from the competition, but now they operate under maintained not well staffed stores with confusing self checkout and obtrusive surveillance everywhere. I…

Or maybe it’s people who can charge at home are more likely to buy EVs.

Re: Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

#53
post #44

Germany already has a pretty good charging network, yet EV adoption is very slow. This will not change much. Charging infrastructure is only a small part of making EVs appealing, although it is obviously a necessary prerequisite.

EV prices are just way too high. As a father of three, I can decide between a used BMW 2 which goes 1k km on a full tank, for €17k, and a Kia EV 7 seater for €70k. Guess which one I went with. There are some other, cheaper, EV models with 7+ seats (40k+), but they charge so slow and need so much power in winter, you‘d get max 200km out of them and then need to charge 1h. Generally, most EVs you can buy in the EU are…

>I can decide between a used BMW 2 which goes 1k km on a full tank, for €17k, and a Kia EV 7 seater for €70k. Guess which one I went with.

I assume you are talking about the family van 2 series? And not the sporty 2 door 2 series. (Why didn't you buy a Touran?)

You are also comparing used car prices to new car prices which is pretty insane.

>EV prices are just way too high.

Sure.

Re: Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

#54

Makes a lot of sense from my amateur perspective. It takes a bit of time to charge a car, and you might as well use it to buy your groceries. Plus I'm sure WM can get a sensible bulk discount on electricity. Add to that, you can make people use your app and show them targeted adverts. You can get them to buy any bulk goods for pickup when they are charging the car.

If they force you to use an app it'll make their charging stations useless for me and anyone else who refuses.

Re: Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

#56

Makes a lot of sense from my amateur perspective. It takes a bit of time to charge a car, and you might as well use it to buy your groceries. Plus I'm sure WM can get a sensible bulk discount on electricity. Add to that, you can make people use your app and show them targeted adverts. You can get them to buy any bulk goods for pickup when they are charging the car.

Only trouble is, the cars charge too fast now days! An 800V vehicle like the Ioniq 5 can often be topped up in under 15 minutes, barely enough time to buy a coffee and use the restroom, let alone do any grocery shopping! And some charging networks apply idle fees if you don’t move your car quickly when charging completes. Of course, a car can only charge as fast as the charger, so maybe it makes sense (and certainly…

When do we start jail breaking cars to intentionally charge slowly and avoid fees?

Re: Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

#57

Makes a lot of sense from my amateur perspective. It takes a bit of time to charge a car, and you might as well use it to buy your groceries. Plus I'm sure WM can get a sensible bulk discount on electricity. Add to that, you can make people use your app and show them targeted adverts. You can get them to buy any bulk goods for pickup when they are charging the car.

Only trouble is, the cars charge too fast now days! An 800V vehicle like the Ioniq 5 can often be topped up in under 15 minutes, barely enough time to buy a coffee and use the restroom, let alone do any grocery shopping! And some charging networks apply idle fees if you don’t move your car quickly when charging completes. Of course, a car can only charge as fast as the charger, so maybe it makes sense (and certainly…

Don't they slow down past ~80%?

Re: Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

#58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For your consideration, the Smart Fortwo electric drive. They really tried. Not a success. While I never owned one, I drove them several times and I liked them! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_electric_drive

The smart is also a "real" car. You can use it on the highway. Obviously it isn't great there, but it is not a car you can only drive in the city.

Indeed, the Smart was a highway-legal car. In the US, it's been possible for years and years and buy a golf cart functional as a "city car" for far less than $12k that you can only use on residential streets or in planned communities. They're very widely available. Virtually nobody actually does this. At least in the US, it's an existing option that is not a viable market segment whatsoever.

Re: Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

#59
post #44

Germany already has a pretty good charging network, yet EV adoption is very slow. This will not change much. Charging infrastructure is only a small part of making EVs appealing, although it is obviously a necessary prerequisite.

EV prices are just way too high. As a father of three, I can decide between a used BMW 2 which goes 1k km on a full tank, for €17k, and a Kia EV 7 seater for €70k. Guess which one I went with. There are some other, cheaper, EV models with 7+ seats (40k+), but they charge so slow and need so much power in winter, you‘d get max 200km out of them and then need to charge 1h. Generally, most EVs you can buy in the EU are…

> a used BMW 2 which goes 1k km on a full tank, for €17k, and a Kia EV 7 seater for €70k

A used lower end model from one manufacturer vs a new high end model from a different one doesn’t seem like a fair comparison.

Re: Walmart plans EV Charging network which will blanket the US within a few years

#60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For your consideration, the Smart Fortwo electric drive. They really tried. Not a success. While I never owned one, I drove them several times and I liked them! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_electric_drive

The smart is also a "real" car. You can use it on the highway. Obviously it isn't great there, but it is not a car you can only drive in the city.

Most larger cities in the USA have expressways/interstate highways through the core or as beltways or both. Yes you can get around on surface streets but most people will want the option to use the faster roads.
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