Dive Brief:

• Subway will pilot small-format electric vehicle charging stations at select new or newly remodeled restaurants this year, the sandwich chain announced Tuesday. The stations will be developed in partnership with GenZ EV Solutions, a provider of electric vehicle charging equipment.
• This partnership also includes a multi-year rollout of Subway Oasis charging parks, which will contain charging canopies with multiple ports, picnic tables, Wi-Fi, restrooms, green space and playgrounds. 
• Subway’s charging stations are expected to provide additional revenue for franchisees and greater guest convenience, the chain said.

Dive Insight:

The restaurant company is working with franchisees at traditional and non-traditional locations to find sites that work with the smaller format EV charging stations and the Subway Oasis charging parks. Red E Charging, an EV charging network, will provide equipment and operating expertise for the stations and Subway Oasis. The smaller stations will have fast EV chargers that will provide a 120-mile charge within 17 minutes for about $20, the company wrote in an email to Restaurant Dive. 

While the chain is just starting its pilot, it will work with its partners “to determine the right number and right locations for the charging stations, based on guest demand,” Subway said. The addition of charging stations could give Subway access to a captive audience, since EV charging takes about 20 minutes to an hour at a fast charging station, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The U.S. currently has over 3 million EVs on the road and over 130,000 public chargers across the country, The White House said in a statement last week. 

Tesla said this month that it would open some of its Supercharger and Destination Charger network to non-Tesla EVs, which will make about 7,500 chargers available for all EVs by the end of 2024. That network will include locations like hotels and restaurants, The White House said. Taco Bell franchisee Diversified Restaurant Group is installing EV charging stations at roughly 120 Taco Bells across California. Starbucks added charging stations at 15 stores last year along a 1,350-mile route from Denver to Starbucks’ headquarters in Seattle.

Subway, which announced last week it is looking to sell itself, has used different tactics to attract more customers within the last few years. In 2022, Subway expanded its nontraditional development to include interactive smart fridges at Grab & Go retail locations. The company also revamped its menu last summer with its Subway Series line, which allows customers to order sandwiches by name or number instead of through traditional customization. Subway said its same-store sales increase of 7.8% in North America for 2022 was largely attributed to this new menu, as well as continued moves to renovate units in the region.