Gas Station Chain With Stores in Maine Closing 1,000 Locations Worldwide

Over the last few years, we have seen the government step in to urge people to make the switch to EVs.

It started with tax rebates given to individuals and companies that purchased an EV.  More recently though, the ‘nudging’ has started involving states putting restrictions on the number of gas and diesel-powered vehicles that can be sold in a given year.

A law restricting the number of fossil fuel vehicles has already been enacted in California, and similar legislation has been discussed in Maine.

In an attempt to get ahead of the growing number of drivers who will be trading in gas pumps for charging stations, one major gas retailer has announced they will be closing 1,000 gas stations in the next few years.

According to Inside EVs, Shell will be divesting in 1,000 of their gas stations in next two years.  They will then allocate those resources to building additional EV charging stations.

The company’s 2024 Energy Transition Strategy report says, in part:

Today there are around 40 million such vehicles on the roads, with up to 275 million expected by 2030. The availability of charging points will be critical for the growth in electric vehicles.

 

Read the full report HERE.

There is no word on how many of the company’s New England gas stations will be affected.  There is also no word on where the new EV charging stations will be built.

As of March 2024, there are about 70 Shell stations in Maine.

According to the Inside EVs article, Shell has already made major investments in the electric vehicle industry.  At the end of 2022, the company has 27,000 charging stations worldwide.  By the end of 2023, that number had jumped to 54,000.

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