Dive Brief:
- Global Partners LP has acknowledged it has struggled to turn a profit from electric vehicle charging stations without the help of government funding, Eric Slifka, president and CEO of the convenience and fuel retailer, said during the company’s earnings call Friday.
- While Global Partners is seeing a small uptick in EV charging usage — its utilization rate grew from “low single digits” to between 6% and 8% in the first quarter —Slifka said “it's difficult at that utilization rate to make money.”
- However, as long as the retailer has government funding, it sees potential for EV charging to make a profit moving forward, Slifka said. Global Partners secured over $800,000 in grants earlier this year for fast chargers.
Dive Insight:
Global Partners is still in the early stages of its electrification program. In February, the retailer announced it was planning to build charging stations at all new Alltown Fresh c-stores, along with adding charging stations at six existing Alltown Fresh locations.
When asked on the earnings call about growing the EV charging program despite these early hurdles, Slifka said Global Partners is seeking government funding for more proposals as it aims to add more charging stations across its network.
“I think we're still a little reticent to go after [EV charging] on our own, because I'm not sure [of] the returns there,” he said, adding that when they can secure government backing, “we think there's a return there.”
Slifka said when it comes to success with EV charging, the brands that scale and “do it in a big enough way” are the ones that will move the needle.
“We're on it, we’re after it,” he said. “It's just going to take a while to scale it up.”
Waltham, Massachusetts-based Global Partners operates more than 350 convenience stores on the East Coast under a variety of banners, including Alltown Fresh, XtraMart, Honey Farms and Jiffy Mart. The retailer also supplies fuel to about 1,700 locations in 12 states.
