Did you know that 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart? That’s a wild fact, and it speaks to how ubiquitous the big box retailer is. Did you know that one of the fastest growing charging networks in the United States is also Walmart? The Morning Dump is getting Socratic this morning because I have a lot of questions, and the answer to those questions appears to be Walmart.
Bill Clinton once famously said that there’s nothing wrong with this country that can’t be fixed with what’s right with this country, and the poignant irony of Walmart being the potential savior of the electrification project in America isn’t lost on me. Maybe the same can be said for Ford, which joined GM in having another good quarter (well, if you overlook the EV writedown) thanks to what it does well: trucks and SUVs.
BMW’s position has been a little shakier lately, and the company will join its German competitors in cutting back jobs. The difference, it seems, is that BMW is focusing its workforce changes more on managers than workers. Audi, more than almost any German automaker, is hurting, and last night it debuted a new vehicle it hopes will help turn things around in the United States.
Wally World To The Rescue
I will admit that, as a city-dweller, I gave into a sort of kneejerk anti-big box phase in my youth, with Walmart as the biggest target due to its success. Mostly, I viewed it as a symptom of a larger move towards sprawl and lower-density development. The hollowing out of American industry and the related China Shock can also be, in part, connected with the achievements of Walmart as pointed out in this interview with MIT Economist David Autor:
In the case of the China Shock, the benefits were experienced by hundreds of millions of people—everyone who shopped at Walmart, for example. The costs were experienced by only a few million people, but their losses were in no sense commensurate with the gains they got from lower prices. You can’t be like, oh, sure, I have no job anymore, but I can get a big TV.
The past cannot be changed, so we can only look to the future. Electrification is a net good for society, and certainly helps with local emissions (to say nothing of the impact on global weather). Walmart be helping with this, as it’s rapidly expanding its rollout of Walmart-branded EV chargers to its stores as my buddy Kyle Stock at Bloomberg notes:
“They’re steamrolling,” said Bill Ferro, cofounder of Paren, a charging consultancy. “It’s the right time to do this and they’ve got the right locations.”
Through June this year, Walmart opened about 46 high-speed public charging stations with 380 cords, according to the US Department of Energy. All told, there are now EV chargers at about 326 of Walmart’s 4,600 or so US stores, and Paren estimates another 300 or so stations are under construction.
Walmart declined to answer questions or provide any detail on how much more charging it will build, but acknowledged in a statement that it has one of the critical ingredients in an electric pump empire: scads of valuable and widespread real estate.
“Our broad footprint positions us to make EV charging more accessible for communities while expanding the way we serve customers,” a Walmart spokesperson wrote via e-mail.
I don’t live within 10 miles of a Walmart. I checked. I’m 13 miles away as the crow flies, but the crow doesn’t have to cross the George Washington Bridge. I do live close to a Costco and frequently use it as a gas station, and now I’m wishing we had a Walmart close by to act as an EV charging station.
Much like Costco subsidizes the cost of fuel through lower margins in order to encourage you to come into the store, buy things, and get a membership, Walmart is basically doing the same. While you charge your car or truck at Walmart it’s going to be very hard not to want to go inside and buy something. The company, similar to Aldi in Europe, is offering cheaper charging than average, with the lowest-cost charging reserved for Walmart members.
To be super cliché, what many people view as a bug (charging speeds), retailers like Walmart view as a feature.
Because many Walmarts are in more rural or suburban areas with historically mediocre charging options, these Walmart fast chargers could encourage more people who cannot charge at home to charge-at-store. Somewhat presciently, our former contributor Kevin Williams suggested this as the most obvious outcome in a piece for us a few years ago.
Walmart isn’t alone in offering chargers, it’s just doing this at an accelerated speed as it seems to be trying to take advantage of a lull in rollouts from many other companies.
Update: In Discord, TheSpaceCadet pointed out you can track the rollout of Walmart chargers on this site, which is cool.
Ford Loses Money, But It’s Good News
GM reported a strong Q2 last week as the automaker rolled forward with a mix of EVs, trucks, and more affordable vehicles than people tend to remember. Ford also had a good Q2, even though it lost money on paper.
Overall, Q2 revenue was down about $1.9 billion to $48.3 billion, leading to a net loss of $1.3 billion. So why is the stock going up? That $1.3 billion year-over-year loss was better than last year’s $2.6 billion loss, and reflects about $4.2 billion in “special item charges” related mostly to Ford scrapping a bunch of EV projects. Take away those special charges and the company made a couple billion dollars.
Overall, the company thinks it’s going to make more money than originally planned and have more cash, which investors like.
“We delivered another strong quarter and raised our full-year guidance, but the more important story is the growing evidence that Ford is becoming a more profitable, more disciplined and genuinely different company,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley. “Our iconic trucks, off-roaders and hybrids are commanding real pricing power; our quality is now industry-leading in the U.S.; and profitable new adjacencies, such as Ford Energy, are opening fresh sources of growth.”
Barring any surprise fires, Ford also expects the F-150 production woes to get wrapped up soon, too.
BMW Is Reportedly Focusing Its Cuts On Managers
While BMW has seemingly weathered the disruptions in the car industry better than its rivals, it isn’t immune to them either. The company is looking to cut its workforce, though, curiously, Manager Magazin (which has a vested interest in managers, being a publication expressly for them) is reporting that the new boss Milan Nedeljković is aiming right for the middle.
The chain of command at BMW is clearly defined. Below the seven-member board of management, responsible for production, development, sales, purchasing, finance, and human resources, the automaker is divided into almost 70 divisions with their respective main departments, numerous sub-departments, and various group levels. In total, the DAX-listed company employs almost 12,600 managers across four management levels, with a global workforce of 155,000.
Too much, according to Milan Nedeljković (57) – and at all levels. As manager magazin learned from insiders, the new CEO intends to drastically streamline BMW’s management structure. The number of divisions could be reduced by up to 20 percent, with several units being merged. More than a dozen division heads would become redundant. Further down the hierarchy, BMW would also need far fewer heads of main departments, department heads, and group leaders. The company initially declined to comment. A spokesperson merely confirmed upcoming “personnel restructuring measures.”
Having worked his way up through middle management at the company, Nedeljković has a better view than most CEOs of the way his company operates and where there might be inefficient operations.
Hey, Look, It’s A Big Audi
Audi had a big event in New York last night to show off the new Audi SQ9, which is the company’s first really big three-row SUV. This is sort of the state of thinking at Audi right now, which has been tossed by lower demand for EVs, weakness in the Chinese market, and tariffs.
It’s an answer to the question: What if Audi took the Q7 and just made it bigger? Here’s how Audi describes it:
Audi today debuted its first-ever SQ9, a spacious three-row SUV built for the U.S. market and the performance halo for the brand’s full-sized SUV flagship Q9 model family. Delivering 591 hp (441 kW) and best-in-class 0-60 mph acceleration in 3.8 seconds, effortless performance comes standard in the SQ9. Launching in the fourth quarter of 2026, the Q9 and SQ9 represent a focused commitment to deliver a vehicle designed to meet the needs of U.S. buyers as well as those seeking a prestigious flagship SUV with effortless performance.
Dealers will probably be happy to have something to finally compete with the GLS, Navigator, X7, et cetera. The price of the regular Q9 will start at $87,700 and the SQ9 will begin at $118,000.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Ben Folds Five, the trio, just hit the 30th anniversary of its first album (the one that didn’t have “Brick” or “Army” on it). There are so many great songs on this album, but I’m partial “Underground” for its Laura Nyro-esque piano flourishes and, c’mon, the hilarious backing vocals from Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee. Hand me my nose ring, show me to the mosh pit!
The Big Question
Man, that is a 1995-ass song. What is the most 1995-coded car?
Top photo: Walmart
My local Walmart is actually a pretty decent one, but it is a small one since I live in a rural community. No EV chargers in the parking lot, since Tesla and EA installed some in the parking lot of the grocery store a few miles down the highway. But I expect Walmart will add some of their own since the parking lot, which they redid a year or two back, already has provisions for them and the support equipment (transformers, battery enclosures, etc.). It will be a good move on their part too, as we get a lot of tourists driving through and the Tesla and EA stations at the grocery store are almost constantly full with a line during daylight hours, so catching some of that demand and the shoppers would be to their benefit. I’d also appreciate an EVSE a bit closer to my house, even though I charge at home 98% of the time.
TBQ:
Honda Civic Coupe in either “Paradise Blue Green” or “Camellia Red.” Basically Teal and Purple, just as the 90’s demanded.
I still say this was the last model year the Civic was something a bit more special than anything in that category. After that Honda decided to chase volume and quality really decreased.
tbq: I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure it’s got a grounding strap with a reflector, chrome spinners, and maybe a single-wiper conversion parked in the middle so you know it’s got a single-wiper conversion.
most walmarts already have EV chargers. They are just putting in their own brand of charger to cut out the middleman.
I just drove from Denver to Las Vegas (and back) in my ID.4. Every stop but 1 was at a Walmart EA station.
it works fine for trips when you need a full charge and takes 20-30 min. you can run into the store to get something to eat or bathroom. but L3 does not work for shopping and daily charging which may take only 10-15 min. I would need to run out halfway through shopping to move the car.
what’s needed is more L2 chargers.
Too many L3 chargers is a good problem to have. Though I doubt most people would be as considerate to move when done…
L3 needs to be like gas stations, quick in and out close to the main roads and have a convenience store/rest area. Many more on highways. L3 does not need to be in shopping centers or places you’ll be for more than 20 min.
Right. If I knew I had to be in a restaurant or store for an hour, I could dial back the charge rate in the car. I am not sure you can do that in all EVs but I know I can control the charge rate by limiting the amount of charging amps allowed in my Tesla. But if I did do that, I am taking away a spot for someone to charge just for my own convenience and I know lots of folks would do this, necessitating even more chargers.
I can’t understand your take. Level 2 is terrible for public charging unless you plan on being somewhere for 5+ hours to get anything meaningful out of it. The world does need more L2 chargers, but only where people sleep and work.
you don’t need to fill up 20-80%. if every store or restaurant had L2 charging, you can charge for a little bit. all you need to do is top off the 10 miles it took to get there and back.
If all you need is a few minutes of charging to get back home, wouldn’t it make more sense to plan better and charge at home where electricity is cheaper?
I drove EVs for 7 years and can remember only one occasion where I needed a brief charge to get home, and that was back when I drove an OG Leaf with a tiny battery. With modern EVs, the need for a brief charge to travel short distances to your home charger is rare. Aside from emergencies, I’m not sure you get enough electrons from a 10 minute stop at an L2 charger to make it worth the effort to find a charger and plug in.
I don’t disagree that more public L2 chargers would be a good thing for other use cases, though.