You may have heard of the convenience store chain Buc-ee’s, but if you live outside the Southern U.S., chances are you haven’t experienced one. And they are an experience. Buc-ee’s stores are revered throughout Texas for the cleanliness of their restrooms, the breadth and scale of their food offerings, and the comically large number of pumps at most locations.
The Threat to Gas Stations
With the transition to electric vehicles underway, companies like Buc-ee’s have a lot to lose. While the bulk of the company’s earnings comes from the offerings inside the stores, the real draw is cheap and plentiful gasoline. When demand for that drops, Buc-ee’s and supersize convenience stores will find themselves competing against grocery stores, hypermarkets, and stand-alone car washes. Buc-ee’s might be great, but each category already has a wealth of competitors.
Part of Buc-ee’s novelty is the fact that you can get all that – at a gas station. When there’s no gas, what then? We got a glimpse of Buc-ee’s possible future on Thursday when Mercedes announced that it would build around 30 fast-charging hubs at Buc-ee’s locations throughout the South. Some will open by the end of this year, with the remainder entering operation by the end of next.
Buc-ee’s and Electric Vehicles
Buc-ee’s already hosts Tesla’s Superchargers at a little over half its locations, and one in Alabama has some Electrify America chargers. But the Mercedes announcement is significant because it suggests that Buc-ee’s could become a major player in the electric vehicle charging market.
How Buc-ee’s Could Succeed
Its vast stores encourage people to linger and spend, not hurry up and leave. That should help offset low margins from fast charging. Of course, if Buc-ee’s becomes better known for its EV chargers than its gas pumps, then the company will have to ditch one of my favorite billboards: ‘Eat here, get gas.’ A small price to pay for progress.
The Future of Transportation
The transportation sector is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the rise of electric vehicles and autonomous technology. As companies like Buc-ee’s adapt to this new reality, we may see a shift towards more sustainable and convenient travel options.
Related Topics
- Charging stations
- Electric vehicles
- Transportation
About the Author
Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch. He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, where he was founding editor. De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism.
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