Walmart CEO: "there is a place for Wal-Mart in the hybrid electric or plug-in electric car market"
We just told you about rumors of Wal-mart getting into the EV business. I tracked down the source to a speech by Wal-mart CEO Lee Scott. Here is the the full text, video and what he said about plug-in hybrids:Now let me turn to something that you might think is completely out there. I have been talking with the heads of the major auto manufacturers over the past few weeks. And I have been asking them if there is a place for Wal-Mart in the hybrid electric or plug-in electric car market, so our customers do not have to spend so much money filling up their gas tanks. Maybe there isn't room for Wal-Mart in this right now. But something tells me that there may be some role for us in the future, and we are going to continue taking a look at this.
Let me throw another idea out there. What if we looked at whether Wal-Mart could provide eco- friendly energy to our customers? What could we do in the U.S. -- where per capita energy use is among the highest in the world?
Imagine your customers pulling into your parking lot, and seeing wind turbines and solar panels, and being able to charge their cars while they shop. I think that would make them feel good about shopping at your stores. It would also make them feel good if they could save money in the process. What if we fed the power generated by those wind turbines and solar powers back into the electrical grid? Just imagine the impact of our customers being able to buy eco-friendly energy at the unbeatable Wal-Mart price.
It's very early in the talks, but this news is encouraging. I would guess Wal-mart's role would be as a recharging station along the lines of a Project Better Place. Considering the amount of real estate Wal-mart controls and the amount of time people spend in their stores, I think Wal-mart could be a major player in the EV biz without batting an eyelash.
Update: What Lee actually says is different than the text of the speech. In this video, Lee says he "personally called" the "chairman" and "visited" the "largest" automaker. Lee also included Sam's Club and not just Walmart as a possible place to recharge your car.
Related:
[Source: Walmart]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
steven 4:20PM (1/24/2008)
Safeway is already using wind generated electricity to power all their gas stations. Has been for 2 or 3 years. Granted you need to do the math as they buy wind-generated power equivalent to the electricity their gas stations require. Otherwise, it would be kinda expensive to run power lines from the turbines directly to each of the gas stations.
Reply
Domenick 5:03PM (1/24/2008)
Solar power generation is a natural for companies like Walmart. They have massive amounts of real estate in the way of parking lots. What isn't used by charging cars could be used inside to help power the store.
Added benefits include helping control run off when it rains and adding a source of water and giving customers protection from sun and rain during their sojourn from vehicle to store. Not to mention the generation of goodwill.
Reply
bioburner 5:11PM (1/24/2008)
It's my understanding that Wal~Mart has solar PV systems on 22 of their stores/clubs/distribution centers. They typically are rented from companies like "Sunedison". The ones I've seen are like 500+ KW systems.
And yes it is encouraging to see all that unused roof space put to good use.
Reply
iDevin 5:49PM (1/24/2008)
I kind of had my doubts about Project Better Place's battery swapping scheme until this post. When you put it into the context of being able to swap your battery out at Wal-Mart, it begins to make a little more sense because not only is Wal-Mart getting into solar generation on their stores, but there's thousands of them everywhere. And furthermore, it's a great way for them to increase business at the store by getting people there more frequently and bringing in new customers.
I'm still not sure I like the idea of swapping battery packs (like those grocery store propane swapping stations, you usually end up with a crappy tank) but this at least makes it a little more interesting.
Reply
Throwback 6:18PM (1/24/2008)
Smart move. What do you do while you wait for your car to charge? SHOP
Reply
Mort 7:50PM (1/24/2008)
Wal Mart roofs are a natural for pv solar, and, most importantly, they have the money. PV shades the roof and provides electricity for air conditioning. As it stands now they burn their lights, refrigeration, everything, 24/7. Get the lead out Wal Mart, we can talk about my EV later.
Reply
mike 8:08PM (1/24/2008)
I could almost like this company if they were not always cutting employee benefits and pay.
Reply
GoodCheer 9:52AM (1/25/2008)
As a location for battery swapping, Wal-Mart makes no sense at all.
EVs won't make any market inroads until they get about 100 miles range. The only time you're going to swap the battery of your electric car is when you're traveling beyond that range. When you're driving that far, you're doing it on a highway. So if you want to swap your battery, you want to do it on a highway. Right?
...Unless you have to drive beyond your EV range to get to Wal-Mart, in which case shopping there is a waste of your time, and is not efficient use of energy even if your car is electric.
Reply
Cheap! 10:10AM (1/25/2008)
Battery swapping is not needed for Plug-in's. They are not EV's so you don't need to change the battery when you run out of power just to keep moving. In a plug-in the internal combustion engine just takes over until you can recharge. What I do see Wal-Mart doing is possibly retrofitting Plug-in capable vehicles at their auto shops. The conversions could be done in just a few hours and they have the distribution network in place, and they would be able to service these conversions all over the country.
I think knowing if you have any problems with this conversion that you are just the nearest Wal-Mart away from repairs, would sway a lot of people to go ahead and have the conversion done.
This is what is needed to get every auto repair shop out there to realize there is no mystery or magic to doing one of these conversions. While the voltages are much, much higher, it is now about as easy as building a flashlight. It also protects the original hybrid battery even more so the car will last even longer.
Wal-Mart, what are you waiting for?
Reply
Tim 12:51PM (2/19/2008)
Here’s an “oh so true” MadTV funny Wal-Mart Parody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KFdRxASP6A&feature=related
Reply
Solar solution 3:36PM (6/21/2008)
This is a great idea. Some feel the big box store is going away. However, if they can provide inexpensive energy it doubles the range for their customers. Take a Chevy Volt for example, it has 40 miles of range before the gas engine kicks in. If Walmart provides charging the customer can come from 40 miles away (instead of 20 miles) and be able to make it home without using gas. Smart move Walmart. Energy is the new currency. Cover your stores and parking lots with solar and communities will thrive around you.
The use of a smart grid is equally important because it allows more renweables to be connected to the grid before we have to add more energy storage by way of pumped storage hydro and others. Ninety percent of the world fleets are not driving at any given point. That's means 90 percent of the fleet can act as electrical storage. The more charging places the more car batteries can contribute because they will not need to keep as high of a charge. Walmart’s logic is sound and may be necessary for their survival.
Reply