EV Charging While Shopping: Retailers Ramp Up Fast-Charging Strategy as REWE and EnBW Reach 500th Site
Cologne — German retailers are expanding their charging infrastructure and increasingly turning to higher-capacity charging points, in step with the growth of electric mobility, allowing customers to conveniently charge their vehicles while they shop. That is according to a survey by the EHI Retail Institute. An upcoming amendment to Germany's Buildings Electromobility Infrastructure Act (GEIG) is set to give retailers greater flexibility in this area.
EnBW and REWE: Focus on Target of 1,000 Sites
A recent milestone illustrates how far the rollout of high-capacity charging infrastructure in retail has progressed. Energy company EnBW has commissioned its 500th fast-charging site at REWE Group stores — half of the up to 1,000-site network planned by 2030. The more than 2,200 charging points at REWE and PENNY stores charge at up to 400 kW, delivering a range gain of up to 400 kilometers in 15 minutes, according to EnBW. Since the first joint site opened in autumn 2022, more than five million charging sessions have taken place there, the company said.
"Saturday, the main shopping day, is statistically the day with the highest number of charging sessions. This shows that the concept of charging at retail locations works, and that building out charging infrastructure at supermarkets is the right strategy," said Martin Römheld, Head of the Electromobility Division at EnBW, according to the company.
Charging and Shopping at the Same Time: EDEKA Plans 300 Sites by 2028
Other retail chains are also increasingly turning to specialized partners rather than operating charging infrastructure themselves. EDEKA subsidiary CEV Handelsimmobilien has entered a partnership with fast-charging provider Electra to equip around 300 sites within the EDEKA network with fast-charging parks by 2028. In parallel, regional company EDEKA Minden-Hannover is expanding its own charging network: 60 additional sites were added in 2025, bringing the total to 204 store locations with company-operated charging points supplied exclusively with renewable electricity and focused on DC fast chargers of up to 150 kW. ALDI SÜD, meanwhile, is building its own charging hubs: at initial sites in Cologne and Karlsruhe, up to six vehicles can already charge simultaneously at up to 200 kW — enough, according to the company, for up to 500 kilometers of additional range in 30 minutes. Forty more sites are planned. ALDI SÜD currently operates more than 700 EV charging stations with around 1,600 charging points, according to the company. Lidl already offers charging at more than 700 stores and, under a 2024 partnership with EWE Go, is having fast chargers rated at least 150 kW installed at several hundred additional stores.
EHI White Paper: Third-Party Operators Favor High-Power Chargers
EHI data show why partners such as EnBW and Electra are playing a growing role in retail fast-charging: at charging points operated by specialized charge point operators (CPOs), the share of High Power Chargers stands at 62 percent. At self-operated charging stations — such as those run by ALDI SÜD or EDEKA Minden-Hannover — the figure is only 33 percent, since installing and maintaining high-power fast chargers is resource-intensive. For the white paper, the EHI Retail Institute surveyed 32 retail chains with 42,099 stores, 11 shopping and specialty retail centers, and seven charge point operators online in February 2026.
GEIG Amendment: New Requirements from January 1, 2027
The GEIG amendment was published in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) on July 28, 2026, and takes effect on January 1, 2027. For existing buildings with more than 20 parking spaces, instead of one charging point per ten parking spaces, an alternative total charging capacity equal to the number of parking spaces multiplied by 1.1 kW will be sufficient. For a supermarket with 100 parking spaces, this means at least 220 kW of charging capacity is required — equivalent to around five charging points above 50 kW or two at 150 kW, according to Cathrin Klitzsch, Project Manager for Climate + Energy/Electromobility at the EHI Retail Institute, in an interview with EHI magazine Stores + Shops. Already, 70 percent of all charging points at retail parking lots are fast-charging points, according to the EHI survey.
"With this new planning certainty, retailers have the opportunity to develop their charging infrastructure to meet customer needs," Klitzsch said.
For retailers, charging infrastructure is thus increasingly becoming a strategic feature, with specialized charging network operators taking on a growing role.
Source: IWR Online, 18 Aug 2026
