Walmart’s Expanding EV Charging Network Is Getting Easier To Pay For (And Cheaper)

The retail giant’s EV charging blitz just surpassed 300 ports, with thousands more in the pipeline.

Walmart EV charging network

Photo by: EV Charging Stations

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

May 26, at 7:18am ET

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Walmart is rapidly expanding its EV fast charging network in the United States.
The American retail giant is also making a few improvements along the way, as well as cutting prices for store members.
The company increased the size of its EV charging network by 50% in just one month.

Walmart is supercharging the installation of DC fast chargers at its stores across the United States. The largest retailer in the world has increased the size of its EV charging network by roughly 50% in just one month, after ticking off another 50% increase from February through April.

Right now, there are over 300 individual ports capable of delivering up to 400 kilowatts at 50 Walmart stores in the U.S., up from last month’s 31 stations and 224 high-powered connectors.

But the company is just starting out, and it’s making some improvements along the way. Adam Happel, Walmart’s General Manager for Retail EV charging, said during an interview with InsideEVs contributor and charging expert Tom Moulougney that the retailer will start adding card payment terminals to its DC fast chargers.

The stations that have been turned on so far can only be managed through Walmart’s app, as there is no other way to pay for the session. Due to customer feedback, though, the company has decided to add the convenience of card readers for customers who don’t want to handle yet another smartphone app. There is currently just one station where the payment solution is being trialed, but future stalls will have the functionality baked in.

That said, only Walmart+ members who use the app to initiate and pay for charging can enjoy a 10% discount on their sessions. Keeping with the topic of pricing, Happel said that Walmart does not implement idling fees and that customers will always have a clear view of how much they have to pay. There is no dynamic pricing based on how crowded a station is, but some locations have Time of Use (TOU) rates where the price differs depending on the time of day.

Plug & Charge, which enables EV drivers to just plug in and charge without having to use an app or a credit card every time, is not supported by Walmart’s DC chargers, but the company is considering it. The main barrier to implementing the feature is related to how the charger communicates with the car. With Plug & Charge, EV drivers can’t enjoy discounts, as the car talks directly to the charger, whereas with the smartphone app, the charging session is manually started by the owner, who is already logged into their Walmart account, and the discount can be automatically applied.

Walmart is installing 400 kW chargers exclusively, either from ABB or Alpitronic, fitted with a CCS1 and a NACS connector. At first, the NACS cable was fitted to the right, but that turned out to be the wrong decision, considering all Tesla EVs have their NACS port on the left rear. Going forward, Walmart’s EV chargers will have the NACS cable on the left to better suit these cars and others like them.

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Wrapping up, Walmart’s head of retail EV charging doesn’t have an exact number for how many EV chargers will be installed at the company’s stores. However, Happel said that Walmart is not in this game for the short term and that we should see thousands of chargers pop up at as many Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in the U.S. as possible. Currently, the company operates over 5,200 stores stateside, so there’s plenty of room for expansion.

Correction: A previous version of this story said that Walmart will add contactless payment terminals at its new charging stations, which is incorrect. The company clarified that it will add swipe and dip-to-ship terminals at most locations. The story has been updated to reflect the change.