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30 minutes to charge still reduces the throughput of the gas station (because filling up with gasoline only requires 10 minutes not 30), meaning that now they'd

30 minutes to charge still reduces the throughput of the gas station (because filling up with gasoline only requires 10 minutes not 30), meaning that now they'd have 1/3 of customers, meaning that they'd need to make their charging prices really high to make up for the lost revenue.

mac01021 8y ago
They'll actually have 5% of the customers, because the other 95% percent will live in the area and have been charging their car at home all night.
- zdragnar 8y ago
  Which means they would go out of business. Gas stations make pennies per gallon of gas at most; the bulk of their profit comes frim in-store purchases.
  - mac01021 8y ago
    Which is weird. I buy something in the store less than once per year.
    - zdragnar 8y ago
      A brief search shows between 3-5 cents average markup in the US, which lines up with what I've been told from first hand sources, which means somewhere between one and two hundred dollars per day from gas sales. That's definitely not enough income to keep a gas station afloat.
onetimemanytime 8y ago
They'll find the sweet spot...add more chargers (they can squeeze them differently,) increase prices or what not. The important thing is to have charges along the way like gasoline cars do, prices may vary :)
- giarc 8y ago
  Looking at it the wrong way. The companies that should be adding chargers are the fast food joints. Pull into a McDonalds to charge up... might as well go in and grab a meal for the whole family. Use it as a loss leader.
  - KineticLensman 8y ago
    Ditto supermarkets / malls / etc
r00fus 8y ago
This is why I think Tesla's prototyping with the supercharger is so important. A non-Tesla charging station would probably better look like a mall - you have customer's location for 20-30m, why not shop or get food? Alternatively, many places of interest would have larger charge points and treat them as a revenue stream. So the timing incompatibility of gas stations may mean they end. I think this is why oil companies are so against EVs - they destabilize their existing decades-built-out delivery network of gas stations unless/until we get charges down to 5m - which isn't likely soon. I can't wait for these localized environmental disasters waiting to become superfund sites to be disbanded entirely.
mikeash 8y ago
Gas stations make very little money on gasoline sales. They make far more on snacks and drinks. Having a more captive audience could make that a lot more lucrative. Throughout also depends on how many spots too have. Chargers are relatively cheap and take less space than gas pumps, so they could make up for it with more spots as well.
- JoeAltmaier 8y ago
  On that topic: so why don't gas stations have vending machines at the pumps? To catch some of those high-margin sales when people pay at the pump.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    Interesting thought. Some places play video ads while you wait. Selling snacks seems like it would be more profitable than that. Build it into the gas pump so one swipe of your card pays for it all.

mac01021 8y ago

They'll actually have 5% of the customers, because the other 95% percent will live in the area and have been charging their car at home all night.

zdragnar 8y ago
Which means they would go out of business. Gas stations make pennies per gallon of gas at most; the bulk of their profit comes frim in-store purchases.
- mac01021 8y ago
  Which is weird. I buy something in the store less than once per year.
  - zdragnar 8y ago
    A brief search shows between 3-5 cents average markup in the US, which lines up with what I've been told from first hand sources, which means somewhere between one and two hundred dollars per day from gas sales. That's definitely not enough income to keep a gas station afloat.

onetimemanytime 8y ago

They'll find the sweet spot...add more chargers (they can squeeze them differently,) increase prices or what not. The important thing is to have charges along the way like gasoline cars do, prices may vary :)

giarc 8y ago
Looking at it the wrong way. The companies that should be adding chargers are the fast food joints. Pull into a McDonalds to charge up... might as well go in and grab a meal for the whole family. Use it as a loss leader.
- KineticLensman 8y ago
  Ditto supermarkets / malls / etc

r00fus 8y ago

This is why I think Tesla's prototyping with the supercharger is so important. A non-Tesla charging station would probably better look like a mall - you have customer's location for 20-30m, why not shop or get food? Alternatively, many places of interest would have larger charge points and treat them as a revenue stream. So the timing incompatibility of gas stations may mean they end. I think this is why oil companies are so against EVs - they destabilize their existing decades-built-out delivery network of gas stations unless/until we get charges down to 5m - which isn't likely soon. I can't wait for these localized environmental disasters waiting to become superfund sites to be disbanded entirely.

mikeash 8y ago

Gas stations make very little money on gasoline sales. They make far more on snacks and drinks. Having a more captive audience could make that a lot more lucrative. Throughout also depends on how many spots too have. Chargers are relatively cheap and take less space than gas pumps, so they could make up for it with more spots as well.

JoeAltmaier 8y ago
On that topic: so why don't gas stations have vending machines at the pumps? To catch some of those high-margin sales when people pay at the pump.
- mikeash 8y ago
  Interesting thought. Some places play video ads while you wait. Selling snacks seems like it would be more profitable than that. Build it into the gas pump so one swipe of your card pays for it all.