Kevin Smartt, CEO of convenience-store chain TXB, doesn’t think twice about whether to install EV chargers at new stores. The chain of about 50 c-stores has committed to including EV chargers—using ChargePoint equipment but branded as TXB EV chargers—at every new site it builds.
“Whether it’s two years or 10 years in the future, we’re definitely going to have a higher concentration of EV vehicles on the road,” Smartt said. “And we’ve always said we don’t care what kind of energy we sell; we want to sell what our consumers want to buy. We think we’ll just have more consumers in the market that will be looking for a clean, convenient, cool place to charge the car, and we think the new TXB locations will be that.”
As of late November, it had five new stores with EV chargers. There are two chargers and four charge points at each store, with room for more down the road, Smartt said. The chain is now considering adding EV chargers to other sites as it remodels them.
Chargers are positioned beside TXB’s outdoor dining facilities at new stores, Smartt said.
“When you put [the EV chargers] far out, there is a reluctance sometimes [for consumers] to want to leave their car and go to the store,” he said.