Electrify American on Tuesday announced that it would install DC fast-charging stations at five Costco locations as part of the retailer’s return to electric vehicle charging.
The rollout includes Costco stores in Clermont, Florida, and Denver, Colorado, which will each get six chargers, plus three California locations, according to a press release. A Costco in Loomis, in the northern part of the state, is slated to get 14 chargers, while stores in Pleasanton and Sacramento will get 10 chargers each.
Costco adds Electrify America DC fast-chargers
The 350-kw chargers will be integrated with the Electrify America network, allowing drivers to find them and pay for charging sessions via the Electrify America app, but pricing will be set by Costco.
Costco periodically offers deals on electric cars and plug-in hybrids, and was one of the first big-box retailers to install Level 2 AC chargers at some locations, back in the 1990s. However, the company pulled the plug on those original chargers in 2011 and 2012 and has only recently started adding EV charging back.
Costco
The first new Costco-branded DC fast charger opened at a new warehouse store in Ridgefield, Washington, in October. This station was installed by Electric Era in what the company claims was just seven weeks from from contract signature to opening. That’s impressive even compared to the Tesla Supercharger network.
It’s unclear if Costco will continue working with both Electric Era and Electrify America, or perhaps even invite additional firms to bring EV charging to its stores. But Electrify America could likely use a large retail partner to replace Walmart, which in 2023 signaled that it was parting ways with the charging network with an announcement that it would be shifting toward its own EV charging network.
Meanwhile, Costco on Tuesday announced a partnership in which customers in 48 U.S. cities can buy new Hyundai vehicles from their local participating dealer directly on Amazon. With an initial emphasis on electric vehicles, the partnership could conceivably spur yet another wave of attention to charging infrastructure.
