Rewe, Penny, Lidl and Co: How supermarkets are becoming electric charging stations

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Column

start : Shell's Germany boss

and Rewe's CFO

in Berlin at the end of November

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shell

At the end of last week, the time had come: The Rewe Group and the energy giant Shell put the first fast charging stations into operation in the parking lot of a supermarket branch in Berlin.

In the future, six charging points will be able to charge electric cars with 300 KW or 150 KW while the drivers are shopping.

Nationwide, 400 Rewe stores and Penny discounters in the group are to be equipped with Shell Recharge columns.

In total, according to the Rewe plan, by 2025 even 6,000 charging points are to be installed in supermarkets and other group buildings.

"Retail plays a central role in ramping up everyday e-mobility," explains

, who has been responsible for Rewe's German business for years and has also been the group's CFO since the summer.

With the new fast-charging stations, "we are expanding our e-infrastructure," says the manager, who was photographed at one of the stations in jeans and a jacket.

In addition, pillars are of course "another strong incentive to shop locally".

Other large supermarket chains are also pursuing similarly ambitious plans.

They also want to expand their capacities significantly.

For example, at the Schwarz Group and its Lidl and Kaufland brands, a third of the almost 4,000 branches are to be equipped with charging stations by the end of 2023.

And Aldi Süd wants to offer 1,500 charging points across Germany by the end of 2024.

Grocery retailers are thus becoming a serious player in the German electric car market.

Almost 60 percent more e-cars than in the previous year

The strategic logic behind it is multi-layered.

Retailers smell new business - and see the opportunity to position themselves on the subject of sustainability.

After all, in view of the political efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sales of electric cars are booming. According to data from the Federal Motor Vehicle Office, almost 60 percent more purely electric cars were registered from January to September than in the same period last year.

However, the charging infrastructure is not growing to the same extent.

As the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) recently determined in its charging network ranking, there are an average of around 22 electric cars per public charging point.

In May 2021 there were only 17 Stromer.

So the supply gap is growing.

In a recent study, the consultants at McKinsey also come to the conclusion that there is a lot of catching up to do here.

Between 2021 and 2030, around 6,000 public charging points would have to be installed every week across the European Union (EU) to meet future demand.

However, only 200 and 400 public charging stations per week are currently being put into operation in Germany and France – and these are the countries that have the highest values ​​in this segment within the EU.

Politicians have already increased the pressure.

In March 2020, the then federal government passed the so-called Building Electromobility Infrastructure Act.

Accordingly, from 2025 all non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spaces must have at least one charging point.

The requirements for new buildings are even higher.

And the experts at the Berlin think tank Agora Verkehrswende, advocates of state subsidies, recommend in a new study that subsidies be concentrated on fast charging points in heavily frequented places - such as supermarkets or shopping centers.

These promise good utilisation, also in rural areas, and are most likely to be operated profitably.

More sales in the stores through charging stations

And this is where the big grocers, with their sometimes huge parking lots, come into play.

They want to "promote the energy transition with this initiative" and make it easier for drivers to "switch to an electric vehicle," explained Rewe, for example, at the inauguration of the pillar in Berlin.

In addition, the pillars act as a lure to strengthen stationary trade.

If you can just charge your car while shopping, you may be more likely to refrain from buying the products online.

In addition, new customers are attracted who urgently need to charge their Stromer and combine this with a purchase.

And electric customers may stay longer in the store because they have to while away the time until the battery is charged.

And as a result of the longer dwell time, the shopping trolleys are usually also fuller – which in turn increases sales.

is also convinced that the electric charging stations lead to a "locational advantage" for Rewe

.

He is Chief Sales & Operations Officer and responsible for e-mobility at the energy company EnBW.

Like Shell, EnBW also cooperates with the supermarket chain, 2000 quick charging points are to be connected to the network together - the first went into operation at the end of October in the parking lot of a Rewe branch in Meerbusch-Brüderich near Düsseldorf.

In addition, Rewe has other partnerships for the installation of charging stations.

At the beginning of October, an agreement was reached with the gas station operator Aral on fast charging at 180 branches, and the project may be significantly expanded.

And there is regional cooperation with Mainova in the Rhine-Main area, where structures are to be created for 35 branches.

This collaborative approach is typical of the current electric boom in supermarkets, says

from the management consultancy Arthur D. Little.

There are basically two different models.

"In the first case, the dealer invests in the charging infrastructure himself and commissions a service provider, such as an energy company, with the operation."

The retailer then usually shares in the sales, but has to deduct the costs of the investment and the operating fee for the service provider.

This is the model that he currently sees most frequently on the market.

"The dealers currently only have a small network of charging stations," Krug continued.

In order for the operation of the columns to be worthwhile for them, you need a few hundred stations in Germany.

With the second model, it is the other way around: "Here, the energy providers have an interest in setting up their charging stations in high-traffic areas and are willing to set up the charging stations and pay a fee to the dealer," Krug continues.

This form of cooperation is currently the exception.

Lidl relies on its own charging stations

The Schwarz Group is taking a completely different approach with its Lidl and Kaufland brands – they rely on a cheap strategy without a partner.

The discounter wants to use its comparatively low prices to target charging customers – and ideally to lure them into its stores.

"Just as it is normal for us today to compare petrol prices, we will also increasingly subject the charging prices to a closer examination," says consultant Krug, describing the logic.

In order to be able to offer the low prices, Lidl not only sets up the charging stations itself, but also takes care of the operation of the stations.

If you want to charge your Stromer there, you first have to download the in-house app - cards from other network operators won't get you very far here.

Purely in terms of the numbers, this business model is the most attractive for retailers because they do not have to share any profits and, in the best case, can even feed the electricity into the pillars via their own solar system on the roof of the supermarket.

This is exactly where consultant Krug also sees risks for companies that decide not to set up their own charging infrastructure: "In ten years, the electric car will be the normal means of transport," he predicts.

The first customer loyalty programs for charging at the columns already exist.

Anyone who completely outsources the operation can no longer use this advantage for themselves.

And of course not benefit from the income either.

This is a huge business field: by 2030, the market for charging electric vehicles in Germany will increase from one billion euros (2020) to ten billion euros, according to a study by Arthur D. Little.

Rewe is lagging behind with the expansion

At the moment, however, companies can hardly keep up with the development of the charging infrastructure.

In November 2021, for example, the Rewe Group announced the goal of building more than 6,000 charging points throughout Germany by the end of 2024.

The number of charging points is still valid, but the period has now been extended by one year.

The first four fast-charging stations in Meerbusch-Büderich only went online almost a year after the plans were published.

"The construction of the appropriate charging infrastructure for rental properties and new buildings requires appropriate time for planning, official approvals and implementation," explains a Rewe spokesman of the long time horizon until implementation.

In addition, the network operators and executing companies would also have to have the capacities available.

Advisor Krug also describes this problem: "In Europe, there is currently high demand for charging station infrastructure and a reduced supply due to supply chain problems and the chip crisis."

Civil engineering companies and electricians who take care of the construction are also difficult to come by.

Gas station operators are looking for alternative business models

Overall, however, there are indications that the supermarkets will change the mobility industry with their electric offensive.

Provided there are enough charging points, the new players may even pose a threat to the old ones.

For gas station operators, the situation is getting worse and worse.

With the slow disappearance of combustion cars, their previous business model will shrink in perspective anyway.

And currently, most gas stations are not places where you want to stay longer while the electric car is charging.

As long as the charging technology does not become faster, customers would have to fill up for half an hour on average instead of five minutes.

So it's no wonder that Shell or Aral are working together with the supermarkets and are also trying to spruce up their petrol stations.

Shell, for example, wants to sweeten its customers' stay with a better range of snacks and coffee, and parcel stations and cash withdrawals are also intended to drive away boredom.

There is even talk of a dinner at the gas station.

It is questionable whether that alone is sufficient.

Therefore, in addition to cooperation with retailers, Shell is also expanding the charging infrastructure on lampposts and street bollards and entering the wallbox business.

Incidentally, not only supermarket chains and discounters have discovered the charging station business for themselves.

In the future, electric cars can also be charged in fast-food restaurants, DIY stores or in hotel parking lots.

The B&B hotel chain, for example, has just announced that it intends to set up around 1,500 publicly accessible charging points at its 150 hotels in Germany by 2023.

And McDonald's wants to set up charging stations at more than 1,000 locations by 2025.

The game is on.