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> And gas stations will begin to dry up Will they though? I was under the impression "gas stations" make very little from the gas itself, and instead make most

> And gas stations will begin to dry up Will they though? I was under the impression "gas stations" make very little from the gas itself, and instead make most from the store (food/drinks etc.) Recently they replaced a very simple and old gas station in my town with a completely new station featuring a robust store. The volume of business to that station has probably increased 10x.

snewman 5y ago
I imagine the reason they make so much from the store is that the gas station is drawing people in? It's expensive to build and maintain the gas station itself, they wouldn't do it unless it was an important contributor to the business model.
danhor 5y ago
Operating a gas station is expensive, so many will ditch the "gas" part. Often the primary draw of gas stations is the gas, not the store, for which there are better alternatives. And since operating an EV-Charger is pretty easy & cheap compared to gas, there will be many stores adding EV-Chargers in the parking lot. Here in germany, there are already a few supermarket chains (primarily ALDI) that have EV-Chargers on their parking lots.
dharmab 5y ago
I used to work for a gas station chain's corporate office in the mid '10s. In general the business was 50/50 gas and food sales, with gas having higher volumes and food having higher margins. The business strategy was to expand food sales and b2b gas and diesel sales (i.e. fuel for company fleets). There was also some niche targets like powersports (e.g. ethanol free fuel for classic vehicles and older recreational powersports equipment).
walrus01 5y ago
I can see a business model in setting up something like one of the large outdoor/weather resistant Japanese vending machines near a bank of chargers. Without staff. https://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+vending+machine+large&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLlvmfq5XzAhUMVN8KHeHIBXcQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1680&bih=940&dpr=2 https://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+vending+machine+lar...
stonemetal12 5y ago
The only problem is you wouldn't go to a gas station if there wasn't gas there. The 5x price "convenience fee" is only convenient if you are already there anyway.
- MayeulC 5y ago
  With EVs taking more time to charge for the time being, I can see the "convenience store" remaining if gas stations switch to electric, unless charge-at-home becomes more prevalent. Alternatively, these might be replaced by restaurants with chargers, for drivers to take their lunch breaks while charging their cars on longer trips. Restaurants, or any popular activity you might want to do on the go (a tourist attraction, though the novelty might wear out, cinemas, spas, etc). Given that it it probably easier to create a new charging station than a new gas station, a lot more competition might appear, and we might see "charging hubs", with basically facilities centered around a fast-charging station, for people to take a break while their cars recharge. It could also disappear once actual fast-charging is a thing.
  - dharmab 5y ago
    I imagine Sonic (https://www.sonicdrivein.com https://www.sonicdrivein.com) adding some EV charging stalls. EDIT: With some searching I found they already launched trials.
dagw 5y ago
Here in Sweden I can count on my fingers the number of times I've filled up at a gas station with a store attached in the past several years. Most gas stations are unmanned and self service, and I assume they make money.
- yakshaving_jgt 5y ago
  > Most gas stations are unmanned and self service, and I assume they make money. After living and driving in Sweden for seven years, I'm fairly certain this isn't true.

snewman 5y ago

I imagine the reason they make so much from the store is that the gas station is drawing people in? It's expensive to build and maintain the gas station itself, they wouldn't do it unless it was an important contributor to the business model.

danhor 5y ago

Operating a gas station is expensive, so many will ditch the "gas" part. Often the primary draw of gas stations is the gas, not the store, for which there are better alternatives. And since operating an EV-Charger is pretty easy & cheap compared to gas, there will be many stores adding EV-Chargers in the parking lot. Here in germany, there are already a few supermarket chains (primarily ALDI) that have EV-Chargers on their parking lots.

dharmab 5y ago

I used to work for a gas station chain's corporate office in the mid '10s. In general the business was 50/50 gas and food sales, with gas having higher volumes and food having higher margins. The business strategy was to expand food sales and b2b gas and diesel sales (i.e. fuel for company fleets). There was also some niche targets like powersports (e.g. ethanol free fuel for classic vehicles and older recreational powersports equipment).

walrus01 5y ago

I can see a business model in setting up something like one of the large outdoor/weather resistant Japanese vending machines near a bank of chargers. Without staff. https://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+vending+machine+large&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLlvmfq5XzAhUMVN8KHeHIBXcQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1680&bih=940&dpr=2 https://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+vending+machine+lar...

stonemetal12 5y ago

The only problem is you wouldn't go to a gas station if there wasn't gas there. The 5x price "convenience fee" is only convenient if you are already there anyway.

MayeulC 5y ago
With EVs taking more time to charge for the time being, I can see the "convenience store" remaining if gas stations switch to electric, unless charge-at-home becomes more prevalent. Alternatively, these might be replaced by restaurants with chargers, for drivers to take their lunch breaks while charging their cars on longer trips. Restaurants, or any popular activity you might want to do on the go (a tourist attraction, though the novelty might wear out, cinemas, spas, etc). Given that it it probably easier to create a new charging station than a new gas station, a lot more competition might appear, and we might see "charging hubs", with basically facilities centered around a fast-charging station, for people to take a break while their cars recharge. It could also disappear once actual fast-charging is a thing.
- dharmab 5y ago
  I imagine Sonic (https://www.sonicdrivein.com https://www.sonicdrivein.com) adding some EV charging stalls. EDIT: With some searching I found they already launched trials.

dagw 5y ago

Here in Sweden I can count on my fingers the number of times I've filled up at a gas station with a store attached in the past several years. Most gas stations are unmanned and self service, and I assume they make money.

yakshaving_jgt 5y ago
> Most gas stations are unmanned and self service, and I assume they make money. After living and driving in Sweden for seven years, I'm fairly certain this isn't true.