McDonald’s Wants To Charge Your Electric Car

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Originally posted on EVANNEX.

Pumping gas is so passé. Gas stations, from BP to Shell, are now introducing electric vehicle chargers. Chains including Wawa, Hy-Vee, and Sheetz have partnered with Tesla and other EV charging providers on chargers. Even hotels are getting in on the action. So have restaurants like Sonic and Ruby Tuesday. Now, McDonald’s is looking to bring electric vehicle charging to its iconic fast food chain.

According to Design Boom, “McDonald’s has grown to become Sweden’s largest restaurant chain for electric car charging. After installing its first charging posts as early as 2009, the mega-chain now [has] 55 charging stations around the Scandinavian country. The expansion of charging stations continues as McDonald’s aims to include charging stations at all its drive-thru restaurants.”

How McDonald’s is using their iconic signposts to make charging visible and electric vehicle drivers (YouTube: McDonald’s Sverige)

“McDonald’s has produced its own version of classic ‘parking signs’ that lead the electric car traveler to the restaurants’ charging stations. … In addition to the current price of charging, the signs also show the current price of [the] Big Mac and Happy Meal,” reports Design Boom.

Happy Meals, Big Macs, and EV Charging showcased on McDonald’s signage (Image from McDonald’s video, via Design Boom.)

As more car buyers choose electric vehicles, McDonald’s want to make it easier for them to find EV charging with this cool twist on the company’s iconic Golden Arches signage. “Our sign is a new and fun take on a classic way of doing just that,” says Christoffer Rönnblad, Marketing Director at McDonald’s in Sweden.

And it’s not just happening in Sweden. Last year, Vattenfall announced, “Every McDonald’s branch in the Netherlands with a McDrive will have two fast charging points installed.” McDonald’s has plans to include 168 fast charging stations in the Netherlands. Bas Klaassen, Director Development Real Estate & Construction at McDonald’s said he was happy “to offer those of our customers driving electric vehicles the convenience of a fast charging point with good facilities on the road.”