Walmart to own and operate EV charging stations at thousands of locations by 2030

As anyone who makes long drives in an EV will tell you, we need more public DC fast charging. Well, help is on the way. Back in 2023, Walmart announced plans to install chargers at thousands of Walmart and Sam’s Club locations by 2030. Now the company has opened up three locations on a pilot basis—two in Texas and one in Arkansas—and revealed some more details of its plans in an interview with State Of Charge’s Tom Moloughney. Walmart’s move into EV charging is big news.

- Charged EV Magazine, Apr 30

The company operates more than 5,200 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in the US, in rural, suburban and urban areas—'tis said that 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart or a Sam's. Doesn’t Walmart already offer EV charging at a lot of its stores? Yes—there are hundreds of DC fast charging stations, operated by the likes of Electrify America and EVgo, at Walmart stores (in 2023, the company said there were 1,300 chargers at more than 280 US facilities). Walmart says the new company-owned and operated chargers will be in addition to the third-party chargers already in service. As far as we know, no numbers have