The Deep South isn’t exactly the first place you think of when it comes to electric cars. But that didn’t stop Bojangles from installing its first EV chargers at a location in Savannah, Georgia, with 85 more already in the works, The New York Times reports. It’s a bold move given that EV sales have slumped nationally since Congress ended a federal tax credit last fall, but Georgia saw a 29% jump in charging ports over the past year, and the region is quietly becoming an unlikely charging hotspot.
“We knew that we had a certain percentage of our guests that were E.V. drivers,” said CIO Richard Del Valle. “We see them going through our drive-throughs.” Georgia Foods, one of Bojangles’s largest franchisees with 45 locations, wants chargers at as many restaurants as it can get them, betting that drivers stuck charging for 30 minutes will spend that time eating.
“We see it as something that’s going to be great for the business,” said Georgia Foods COO Rajiv Dinakaran.
The Deep South isn’t exactly the first place you think of when it comes to electric cars. But that didn’t stop Bojangles from installing its first EV chargers at a location in Savannah, Georgia, with 85 more already in the works, The New York Times reports. It’s a bold move given that EV sales have slumped nationally since Congress ended a federal tax credit last fall, but Georgia saw a 29% jump in charging ports over the past year, and the region is quietly becoming an unlikely charging hotspot.
“We knew that we had a certain percentage of our guests that were E.V. drivers,” said CIO Richard Del Valle. “We see them going through our drive-throughs.” Georgia Foods, one of Bojangles’s largest franchisees with 45 locations, wants chargers at as many restaurants as it can get them, betting that drivers stuck charging for 30 minutes will spend that time eating.
“We see it as something that’s going to be great for the business,” said Georgia Foods COO Rajiv Dinakaran.