Costco gets its own fast-charging stations
Costco is one of many companies to offer its customers electric vehicle charging points in its parking lots, although they are still very rare. Recently, however, the retail giant has begun to install its own branded charging stations.
The first to see the light of day is in Ridgefield, in the U.S. state of Washington. They were installed by a Seattle-based company, Electric Era, which claims to have needed just seven weeks from contract signature to commissioning.
This is much faster than other competing charging stations, including most of Tesla's Superchargers. The transformer required for Electric Era charging stations is also over 60% more compact than normal.
On the other hand, in keeping with Costco's image, the kiosks feature a huge 32-inch screen, clearly displaying a wide range of charging information, personalized content and promotions.
Additional locations will follow, but for the moment, no official announcement has been made regarding the expansion of charging stations at Costco. Nor for a reduction in the number of gas pumps, for that matter.
The availability and reliability of public fast-charging stations are among the main keys to facilitating the adoption of electric vehicles by a majority of drivers, in addition to vehicle price and range.
