Retailers Examine the EV Challenges Ahead

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. — How will the switch to electric vehicles hit convenience stores and what can operators do to prepare today?

These questions and more hung over the Flipping the Forecourt general session panel at CSP’sOutlook Leadership Conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif.

Doug Haugh, president of Parkland USA, and Ken Parent, former president of Pilot Co., currently serving as a special advisor for Pilot, sat down with Mitch Morrison, vice president of retailer relations for Winsight.

Click through for a look at what lies ahead for fuel retailers …

“Predicting when energy transitions are going to happen is hard and most are incorrect,” said Haugh, who pushed for a wait-and-see approach to the eventual switch from internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs.

• Parkland USA, based in Charleston, S.C., is No. 85 on CSP’s 2021 Top 202 ranking of c-stores by store count.

“In this case, for our industry, I think it’s a pretty good thing to be last. Early adoption could be dangerous if handled incorrectly,” said Haugh. “Do not lose focus on your core business. It’s what will give you a chance to make this change.”

Haugh said he expects the tipping point of EV affordability compared to ICE vehicles will land around 2022.

EVs make up a small percentage of cars sold today, said Parent, but that is changing quickly. He said 2% of cars sold in 2020 were EVs, but hybrid vehicles accounted for 4.5% of all light duty vehicle sales in Q1 2021.

• Travel center retailer Pilot Co., based in Knoxville, Tenn., is No. 13 on CSP’s 2021 Top 202 ranking of c-stores by store count.

Parent predicted turbulence ahead when it comes to reaching a deal with utility companies to determine pricing and distribution of electric charging. “How do you come to some agreement in terms of a fair model?” he asked.

Haugh pointed to Refuel, a chain of more than 100 stores based in Mount Pleasant, S.C., as a good example of a company flipping the forecourt from the front to the back lot at one of its locations. “It’s not how the store presents itself, it’s how the community thinks of the store,” he said, and Refuel wants its customers to think of this location as a store first and a fuel destination second.

• Refuel is No. 64 on CSP’s 2021 Top 202 ranking of c-stores by store count.

Both Parent and Haugh stressed that operators can weather the coming changes. “Just invest in your best stores, stay close to your customers, innovate and you’ll be fine,” said Haugh.