Shell Oil Products U.S. will bring its parent company's electric vehicle-only retail concept to the United States next year with a first location expected to open in Piedmont, California, CSP has learned.
The retailer and oil company purchased a Shell-branded service station in Piedmont this month and will begin the permitting process to clear the way for the new prototype store.
"Pending permitting and regulatory approvals, Shell hopes to construct a new 14-bay electric-vehicle (EV) charging hub at the site under the Shell Recharge brand," a Shell spokesperson told CSP. "Shell envisions this site to be part of our growing state and national network of fast charging for electric vehicles."
- Shell, operating stores under the Timewise brand, ranked No. 45 on CSP's 2023 Top 202 list of the largest convenience-store chains in the United States.
Shell installed its first Recharge-branded charging units at gas stations near Boston's Logan International Airport in 2019, with others slowly added at Shell-branded sites across the country since then.
The Piedmont site, however, will not include gasoline pumps, picking up on prototype stores built in London and Shenzhen, China (pictured above).
The first Shell Recharge-only site opened in early 2022 after converting a traditional fuel and diesel station in southwest London to an all-electric-charging unit with 10 EV fast-charging points. The connected store includes a café and other standard convenience products.
The Shenzhen, China, location, meanwhile, opened just this fall outside the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport with 258 fast-charging points.
Jeff Hansen, the previous owner of Piedmont Auto Care since 2005, said he's anxious to see what will become of his gas station, which he says has served the neighborhood for more than 100 years.
"I do think it's a win-win," he told KTVU News. "I can leave this corner knowing I left behind something kinda cool ... for the next 100 years, at least."