WAWA, Pa. —Convenience-store retailerWawa Inc. is doubling the number of its sites that host Tesla electric-vehicle (EV) Superchargers within the next two years.
The chain of more than 800 sites currently has 16 locations with Tesla Superchargers, and it plans to have 32 by the end of 2020, spokesperson Lori Bruce told The Philadelphia Inquirer. The latest location is under construction in Maple Shade, Pa., and is set to open in December.
Wawa, based in Wawa, Pa., began adding EV charging stations to its sites in 2017. Tesla Supercharger locations typically feature eight charging stations, which add about 150 miles of range per 15 minutes of charging. Tesla’s newest EV models have a driving range of up to 370 miles, which would take a driver just beyond the distance from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.
Most of Wawa’s Tesla Supercharger locations are in New Jersey, at stores in Florence, Woodbridge, Paulsboro, Kearny, Parsippany and Barnegat. Other locations are in Lewes, Claymont and Dover, Delaware; Chester and Fredericksburg, Va; and Pinellas Park, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and West Palm Beach, Fla. Wawa does not have any Tesla Supercharger sites in Pennsylvania, although Bruce told The Inquirer “that will change.” It does have an EV charging station from Electrify America, the charging network subsidiary of Volkswagen, in the state.
Vivianna Van Deerlin, a Tesla owner, told The Inquirer that the Supercharger site planned for Wawa's new Maple Shade location is convenient because it is close to her home and major roads such as the New Jersey Turnpike, I-295 and the Betsy Ross Bridge.
“Superchargers offer a great utility when you’re traveling away from home,” she said. “When you do stop, it takes about 10 or 15 minutes to charge. So it’s great to have a location that offers food, a bathroom, coffee and even windshield cleaner fluid. Wawa is ideal.”
Other c-store retailers that host Tesla Supercharger locations on their lots include Sheetz, which has more than 20 sites; Royal Farms; QuickChek; and Love’s Travel Stops. QuickChek Corp., Whitehouse Station, N.J., just added a Supercharger station to its Robbinsville, N.J., location, according to the town’s Facebook page. The Robbinsville QuickChek opened in January 2019 and features a nearly 5,500-square-foot c-store with 50% of its space dedicated to fresh food and beverages, including a made-to-order foodservice program. QuickChek debuted its first Tesla Supercharger site in 2016 at a store in Ulster, N.Y.
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