Coffee, 400 Kilowatts and Co-Branding: What Mercedes–Starbucks Hubs Signal for Owners
- Keith Reynolds
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
First 400 kW hub at a Starbucks in Red Bluff, CA turns EV charging into part of the store experience, not just hardware in the lot.
A 400 kW billboard for the future of roadside retail
Just before Thanksgiving travel kicked off, Starbucks and Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging quietly flipped the switch on their first joint DC fast-charging hub in Red Bluff, California, just off Interstate 5. Starbucks describes it as an EV charging hub “right off I-5” with speeds up to 400 kW, capable of adding roughly 300 miles of range in about 10 minutes, open to all EV brands with both NACS and CCS cables at every stall. Independent coverage from EV trade outlets confirms the headline specs: 400 kW dispensers, dual NACS/CCS connectors at each bay, and a first site in a planned corridor that will eventually cover more than 100 Starbucks locations along the West Coast I-5 route from Washington to Southern California.
Mercedes-Benz is not dabbling. Its high-power charging venture with MN8 Energy is backed by more than $1 billion in planned investment to deploy at least 400 hubs and 2,500 fast-charging points across North America by the end of the decade, as detailed in company filings and mobility stories. For commercial property owners and investors, the Red Bluff site is less about one Starbucks parking lot and more about a template: co-brand the stop, design for dwell time, and treat charging as a front-of-house experience rather than a back-of-lot afterthought.
Charging as an amenity, not an afterthought
The Starbucks–Mercedes materials lean heavily on language that would sound familiar to any retail REIT: “welcoming and connected” spaces, “reimagining what the journey looks like,” and making fast charging “as easy as ordering your favorite cup of coffee.” Mercedes’ own consumer-facing charging site doubles down on that framing. The network promises speeds up to 400 kW, chargers placed “where you need them most — along major corridors and essential stops,” and multiple payment options from tap-to-pay to Plug & Charge, all meant to “seamlessly fit into everyday life.”
This isn’t Mercedes’ first experiment with co-located “premium” charging. The same high-power network is being rolled out at 55 Simon Properties malls in the U.S., explicitly framed as a way to integrate charging with “shopping, dining, and entertainment destinations.” If this sounds familiar, it should. Electrify America’s earlier partnerships with Walmart, Target and Simon put ultra-fast chargers next to big-box anchors, betting that drivers would shop while they charged. The Starbucks–Mercedes hub is the next evolution of that pattern: the coffeehouse itself becomes the lounge, the restroom, the waiting room and the loyalty program while a branded automaker takes point on chargers, uptime and software.
Why this matters to landlords and property managers
For building owners, the Red Bluff site shows where the market is heading:
Experience is now as important as kilowatts. Tesla’s model—integrated navigation, route planning and high uptime—set the bar for effortless highway charging. Third-party studies and owner reports repeatedly rank Tesla’s Supercharger network ahead of most public alternatives on reliability and ease of use. Mercedes and Starbucks are explicitly trying to deliver a similarly seamless, premium stop under two household names.
Co-location is a competitive advantage. Mercedes is already pairing high-power hubs with Simon malls, Buc-ee’s travel centers and now Starbucks locations along I-5—exactly the kinds of “must-stop” venues that already dominate trip planning. As more networks fight for prime real estate, owners with strong traffic and amenities will have leverage.
Charging hubs are becoming branded anchors. In the same way Starbucks or a flagship retailer can anchor a center, a high-visibility charging plaza with canopies, lighting, signage and integrated apps is increasingly part of the property’s identity. Mercedes’ first U.S. charging hub at its Sandy Springs, GA HQ, for example, includes a dedicated lounge, solar, and prominent brand lighting—essentially a mini-pavilion on site.
For CRE, that raises strategic questions: Do you want your site to be “just another pin on someone else’s map,” or do you want charging that reinforces your own brand and tenant mix?
The playbook: questions owners should be asking now
The Red Bluff hub is only one site, but it offers a useful checklist for owners and asset managers considering their next EV deal:
Does the charging experience match the rest of the property? Are lighting, security, restrooms and wayfinding up to the same standard as your lobby—or is charging consigned to a dark corner of the lot?
Who controls the customer relationship? In the Mercedes–Starbucks model, the driver’s “session” includes the coffeehouse, loyalty app and charging app or in-vehicle interface. Where does your brand show up in that flow?
Is this future-proofed? Starbucks and Mercedes are deploying 400 kW hardware with both NACS and CCS from day one in Red Bluff—enough headroom for next-generation vehicles and standards. How does your proposed installation compare in power, connectors and upgrade rights?
What does the contract assume about dwell time and cross-spend? The entire logic of the Red Bluff site is that people will come in for coffee, food and restrooms while they charge. Are your revenue-share or lease terms aligned with that behavior, or are you effectively giving away the most valuable minutes on your site?
Tesla, Electrify America, IONNA and now Mercedes’ high-power network are all converging on the same conclusion: charging is not just infrastructure—it’s a retail and experience product.
For landlords, the Red Bluff Starbucks isn’t just a feel-good holiday travel story. It’s an early look at how EV hubs, brands and brick-and-mortar real estate are going to fuse together over the next decade—and a nudge to start treating charging deals like any other anchor tenant negotiation, not a bolt-on.
References and Further Reading
Starbucks and Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging, “Starbucks and Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging Launch EV Stations Along I-5” (Nov. 2025) — https://about.starbucks.com/press/2025/starbucks-and-mercedes-benz-high-power-charging-launches-ev-stations-along-i5/ About Starbucks+1
EVChargingStations.com, “Starbucks Gets Its First Mercedes-Benz Chargers” (Nov. 27, 2025) — https://evchargingstations.com/chargingnews/starbucks-gets-its-first-mercedes-benz-chargers/ EV Charging Stations With Tom Moloughney
The EV Report, “Starbucks, Mercedes-Benz Launch I-5 EV Charging Hub” (Nov. 26, 2025) — https://theevreport.com/starbucks-mercedes-benz-launch-i-5-ev-charging-hub The EV Report
Electrek, “Mercedes-Benz opens its first DC fast charging hub at Starbucks” (Nov. 25, 2025) — https://electrek.co/2025/11/25/mercedes-benz-opens-its-first-dc-fast-charging-hub-at-starbucks/ Electrek
Mercedes-Benz Mobility, “First EV Charging Hub in North America” — https://www.mercedes-benz-mobility.com/en/who-we-are/stories/first-ev-charging-hub-in-north-america/
Mercedes-Benz Group, “High-Power Charging Network” — https://group.mercedes-benz.com/innovation/drive-systems/electric/high-power-charging-network.html
Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging (consumer site) — https://mercedesbenzhpc.com/ Mercedes-Benz High Power Charging
Mercedes-Benz USA, “EV Charging Stations” (partner list: Starbucks, Simon, Buc-ee’s) — https://www.mbusa.com/en/ev-charging-stations
Simon / Mercedes-Benz strategic alliance release — https://investors.simon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mercedes-benz-announces-strategic-alliance-simonr-expand-high
Walmart–Electrify America joint release — https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2019/06/06/electrify-america-walmart-announce-completion-of-over-120-charging-stations-at-walmart-stores-nationwide-with-plans-for-further-expansion
Electrify America background and location strategy — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrify_America
Fast-charging network statistics — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_charging_network
IONNA context: OEM-backed highway network — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionna