Canadian grocer and retail giant Loblaw has launched their very own electric vehicle (EV) charging network called Park + Charge. The network was launched earlier this month and the company plans to install EV chargers at its stores across the country.
Loblaw has not officially announced their new venture, but they have already opened at least one station. Additional details of the network were revealed by the firm they hired to design the brand, Landini Associates.
According to a page dedicated to the project on the Landini & Associates website, the EV charging network will be nationwide and added to Loblaw stores across the country “over the coming years.”
A review of Plugshare shows one of the first stations has already been built and is now open at Loblaw’s Bayview Village in Toronto (2877 Bayview Ave).
UPDATE October 6, 2022 2:40pm PDT: Thanks to one of our readers Dan, there is also a Park + Charge station operational at the Georgetown Superstore at 171 Guelph Street.
Photos on Plugshare show construction started at the Toronto location in April and based on the first check-in registered on the site, the station opened around September 20. Georgetown appears to have opened even earlier, around mid-August.
The stations features both CHAdeMO and CCS connectors and an easy-to-use credit card tap payment system (no mobile app or account required).
Charging fees range from $0.12 per minute for 40kW, $0.20 per minute for 75kW, and $0.32 per minute for 150kW fast charging.
There is also another station at the Eagleson Superstore in Kanata (760 Eagleson Rd). Photos from the location show construction started in May, and as of September 9 the four EV chargers appear ready to be turned on.
It looks like there will also be one installed at the Brampton Superstore (85 Steeles Ave W), as Plugshare shows this location as “coming soon.”
UPDATE October 6, 2022 2:40pm PDT: According to eCAMION, five charging stations will be built, all in Ontario. The company will then focus on rolling out their EV chargers in the US, before adding more locations in Canada.
We have reached out to Loblaw for more information on Park + Charge and what their expansion plans are for the network, but have not received a response by the time of publication. We will update this article if we receive one.
Tesla was the first company to complete a coast-to-coast electric vehicle (EV) charging network in Canada. That feat was followed shortly thereafter by Petro-Canada with their ‘electric highway,’ although their reliability is not the best and many stations are often offline.
