Finally, a chain restaurant sees the opportunity.
The sandwich restaurant chain Subway has entered a partnership with a company called GenZ EV Solutions and plans to create EV charging parks (with a Subway restaurant, of course). In turn, GenZ EV Solutions is working with Red E Charging for its software.
It seems like a no-brainer for a fast-food restaurant chain to create strategically placed locations that focus on electric vehicle charging, but it looks like Subway is the first to implement a plan.
The idea of grabbing something to eat or a cup of coffee while charging a car is often discussed, but we've come across incredibly few chargers with somewhere to eat within reasonable walking distance for a 20-minute charge.
The press release says it wants to provide “a more seamless experience for EV drivers by installing Subway Oasis charging parks at select locations.” The Oasis appears to have charging canopies with multiple ports, picnic tables, Wi-Fi, restrooms, green space, and playgrounds.
We don't see a Subway restaurant in the concept picture, but that will be how the marketers envision using the picnic tables. The plan is to offer Subway promotions only to people using the chargers. However, Subway is touting that the chargers won't only be available to customers. Curiously, we see a Tesla Model S in the concept picture, but Tesla has its own proprietary network.
“Equitable access to charging is essential to the adoption of EVs in the future, and Subway's scale will play an important role in democratizing charging infrastructure for millions of Americans,” says Jose Valls, CEO of GenZ EV Solutions. “By coupling our technology and know-how with Red E Charging's strategic site selection and Subway's network of restaurants across the US, we are continuing to make key strides in building the EV infrastructure of tomorrow.”
Subway says that it won't just be big projects taking place with the partnership. The brand is planning to work with franchisees to identify sites for both smaller-format EV charging stations as well as Subway EV Charging Oasis parks. It may also be trying to get in front of legislation that could take off across the states.
Either way, big chains pushing the charging network wider could be critical to the success of EVs.
Keyword: Subway's Electric Vehicle Charging Oasis Parks Are The Future Of EV Chargers