Costco-Branded EV Fast Chargers Rolling Out at Costco Stores in U.S.
Costco is just one of many businesses offering electric vehicle chargers in its parking lots, albeit in extremely small numbers. In recent days, however, the American retail giant has started to roll out its own Costco-branded chargers in the U.S.
The first ones came online in Ridgefield, Washington last week. They were installed by a company from Seattle called Electric Era, which claims it needed just seven weeks from contract signature all the way to station launch. That’s actually pretty fast when compared with other EV charging stations including most of Tesla’s Superchargers.
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According to Electric Era, battery storage is built into the chargers from the start and AI helps manage load, cutting the necessary transformer size by more than 60 percent.
Of course, since everything is bigger at Costco, the chargers also feature 32-inch screens that display full charging data in addition to personalized content and promotions.
More locations are expected to follow, although no official announcement about an EV charging station expansion has been made by Costco yet. There are no plans to cut the number of gas pumps, either.
Along with lowering vehicle prices and increasing range, massive development of charging infrastructure is critical to drive adoption of EVs.
