As our recent guide to EV and EV Charger incentives shows, most European countries are now pushing forward with electrification to cut carbon emissions significantly by 2030. The UK announced a new £400 million fund for EV chargers just last month, Italy has introduced a comprehensive EV incentives program for the first time this year, and Germany has just ratified its updated 2030 Climate Plan, continuing current incentives well into 2025. Other countries are on the same pathway. This means that EVs -and their chargers-are coming and they’re here to stay.
Array
So, get ready to say goodbye to petrol pumps and hello to sparkly new EV charging points at your local service station, as many Norwegians and Americans are already doing. Businesses that want to not just survive, but thrive, in this increasingly electric environment will have to keep up. With EV charger incentives now becoming the norm across much of Europe, businesses of all kinds must take advantage of the opportunity to develop their own charging infrastructure for employees and/or customers. Not only do government incentives normally have time limits but without such infrastructure, your business may increasingly struggle to compete with those who have already gone electric. Continue reading to discover other potential benefits of charging stations for your business:
Get The Green Light
Today’s consumers are more concerned with the ethical reputation of the companies they buy from than those of the past. A report by Forbes in 2017 found that a whopping 87% of consumers tend to have a more positive image of a company that supports social or environmental issues. 88% are also more likely to remain loyal to such a company than a less eco-conscious competitor. In other words, most people today are concerned about social and environmental issues and increasingly opt to buy from and work with companies that fit with their personal ethical values. This is especially the case for millennials and “generation Xers” and those who already own or who may in the future own an electric vehicle – usually a more environmentally-minded demographic.
Whether you’re a supermarket offering charging facilities to your customers or a logistics company with an electric fleet and its own charging infrastructure, installing EV chargers on your premises shows your company is choosing to go green. EV charging can be part of a larger sustainability goal. This in turn allows certain businesses to gain industry-recognized sustainability qualifications, such as LEED certification. For real-estate companies aiming to gain country or continent-specific environmental accreditation, for example, installing EV chargers for their tenants may really help them to tick important boxes for such certification.
This will not only boost your brand image and reputation, increasing customer loyalty, and bringing in new customers, especially as more and more people become EV owners. It will also help to attract and retain employees who, like consumers, are increasingly concerned with environmental and social issues. Installing EV chargers may also actively encourage environmentally-friendly behaviors among employees, clients, or tenants who haven’t yet ‘gone green. Indeed, according to a survey conducted by the US Department of Energy, workers are 20 times more likely to buy an electric vehicle if their employers offer free charging at work. Besides all the business benefits then, going electric will also give you the sheer satisfaction of doing something good for the environment!
Make Your Business The Convenient Choice
Going greener by installing EV chargers will not only boost customer loyalty due to reputation. As more people own EVs, and the drive towards an electric future in 2030 really kicks in, EV chargers will become essential facilities. If freely accessible WiFi is now present in most public places in Europe, EV charging will also become near-ubiquitous in the coming years. Customers will expect their favorite shops, restaurants, and hotels to provide them – and if they don’t, they will switch providers. After all, why would you go grocery shopping and not charge your EV for free if you could?
When it comes to more remote businesses like service stations and hotels that require longer travel time, EV chargers will be even more essential. For customers who may have had to drive long distances, charging will be more than just convenient: they’ll need it to continue their journey. This is also true of commercial or residential real estate. Companies renting office space will increasingly expect these businesses to offer EV chargers for their employees. Meanwhile, tenants who are EV owners will, understandably, expect to be able to charge their car at their home too.
Future employees or service partners that use EVs will also increasingly begin to consider charging stations as granted, inevitably picking the employers or partners that offer them over those who don’t. A good pension package and Friday night drinks with work friends are only some of the requirements that today’s employees expect; onsite charging will become the norm as more people commute to work using EVs or electric scooters. Indeed, research shows that employees increasingly appreciate charging stations at their workplace. In the US alone, 74% of Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) owners express a strong interest in workplace charging. The benefits of EV charging stations for your business are therefore not just limited to the customer side. They’ll also help your company internally by driving recruitment and higher employee retainment rates.
Installing EV chargers will grow your brand’s visibility and draw in new clients. New applications such as Zapmap and Open Charge Map enable EV drivers to plan routes, locate sites with electric charging points, add their own charging locations, and create discussions. Users can add information about the site and give reviews based on their experience. This kind of application opens up a business’ potential customer base; many visitors may be local, others may be passersby, but both will help to build brand visibility by word-of-mouth. If you manage to get a good review – aided perhaps by special deals in store for EV owners who charge at your site – you will be able to consolidate brand loyalty and encourage first-time chargers to return in the future.
You might be thinking: ‘but how do EVs relate to my business? I don’t know if any of my customers even own EVs!’ Whether you’re a local café or a nationwide hotel chain, it’s still worth trying to encourage EV owners to form part of your customer base. Research shows that EV owners tend to be higher-earning than the average population. They’re predominantly men with higher levels of education, in full-time employment, and around the ages of 30–45. Looking towards the future, such research also shows that electric vehicles may soon become popular among higher-income females and retirees/pensioners. Providing charging facilities may, therefore, give you a competitive advantage in terms of opening up new audiences or growing existing ones over the years.
Currently, EV owners also appear to have high levels of disposable income, making them potentially bigger-spenders when they visit your business. As EVs become more affordable across the board, with advanced battery technology becoming cheaper and government incentives and regulations ramping up, they are likely to become the norm for everyone, regardless of socio-economic background. Investing in infrastructure that accommodates EVs, then, will likely make your business more market-resilient and give it broader appeal in the future.
Going electric means serious savings for your business. Company fleets that are partially or fully electrified will enable you to access government subsidy funds and leverage tax benefits such as avoiding company car tax. Not only that, but they’ll also allow you to make ongoing savings, such as eliminating tolls on motorways. When local incentives, like subsidies for charging infrastructure via schemes like the UK’s Workplace Charging Scheme, are combined with the comparatively low cost of electricity versus petrol, taking the EV route is a no-brainer for your budget. If installing a charger is virtually free, depending on where your business is based, and charging and maintaining EVs is always cheaper than petrol options, why on earth would any business not electrify their fleet?
Reducing your carbon footprint also has the advantage of lowering your carbon emissions tax. The EU ETS, regulating the carbon emissions tax across the continent, applies to a variety of businesses, from power generators to large industrial premises and manufacturers, including food processing plants, to certain public sector facilities, to hospitals. If your business is taxed under these regulations, reducing your carbon footprint should be high on your priorities if you want to keep your revenues high.
Another often overlooked saving point is the energy resilience that having an electric fleet can offer in emergency scenarios. Investing in chargers that are bi-directional, in other words, that are ‘two-way’ and can convert and direct energy both into the car and out of it back to its source, means that EVs plugged into your charging infrastructure can act as a source of energy (via their battery storage) during power-outs or shortages. Renewable energies are not necessarily, as is often believed, more unreliable than fossil fuels – in fact, in some cases, they have been shown to actually strengthen grid resilience. Even so, you can never rule out possible shortages. Indeed, the number one threat to grid resilience when it comes to renewables is probably erratic weather patterns and natural hazards, as renewable sources of energy are often physically climate-vulnerable. With climate change making global weather patterns more erratic, natural weather hazards may occur more often, potentially becoming a bigger issue in terms of grid resilience. EVs may, therefore, provide an important emergency energy source in times of need, saving your business thousands of euros in potential lost business that could occur due to energy failures.
Additionally, EV chargers will allow you to increase revenue. Firstly, customers with EVs are more likely to stay at your site for more time to charge, thus encouraging them to purchase more products or services. Depending on the charger type – fast, rapid, or slow – EVs take an average time of 30 minutes to 12 hours to charge. By opting for a fast-charging system with an average charging time of, say, an hour, you can offer customers a quick-enough charging service while also encouraging them to stay a little longer and purchase that item they’ve been eyeing up for weeks.
Secondly, EV charging points can be a source of extra revenue in themselves. Depending on the business model you go for, you may want to generate additional income by selling electricity to EV owners. This may be a blanket (everyone pays) or stratified (only the public rather than customers pay) strategy. But either way, it will bring in new funds, even if only used as a way to attract customers via free charging to boost sales of your actual products and services. Businesses with chargers can also generate revenue via targeted advertising; EV owners who agree to receive emails, for instance, can be sent new information about promotions and opportunities to encourage them to come back in the future. Advertising space can also be sold to external organizations for a fee.
Installing your own charging stations on-site will give you access to a high volume of useful data, for example, C02 savings, kWh-usage, energy costs, and charging point activity. Such data can be used to inform internal reports, tax declarations, and logistics and marketing plans to boost accuracy and make implementation processes more effective. Having your own chargers also means that such data does not need to be bought from a third party or filtered by one, meaning that your employees, business owners, and fleet managers can have direct access to data insights. They can, therefore, use it in the most agile and flexible ways to gain insights into various aspects of your business.
As demonstrated by our EV incentives guide in Europe, most European countries are aiming for near-total electrification by 2030. The fossil fuel to electric vehicle transition is already happening. However, when combined with increasing incentives and the breakthrough in battery technology development that’s just around the corner, this shift is set to be in full swing by 2025-30. Indeed, given that there were around 3 million EVs in the world in 2018, it’s estimated that that number will rise to 125 million by 2030. EVs are where it’s at: if your business wants to capitalize on the many benefits noted in this article and stay competitive, you should enter the arena and get investing in EV charging infrastructure sooner, rather than later.
To find out what kind of charger would work best for your business, visit our website here.
Despite new vehicle sales slumping by 20% in the second quarter of 2022, electric vehicle sales soared. Sales of electrified vehicles – EVs, hybrids, and fuel-cell-powered vehicles – reached 442,740 units, a new quarterly record.
Increasing consumer adoption of EVs is partly a response to high gas prices and growing concerns over greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming. In addition, it reflects moves by automakers to expand the number of moderately-priced passenger EVs on the market to 33 models as of mid-2022.
The demand for EV charging stations is growing rapidly. Many public charging stations are owned or operated by private charging network companies. Recognizing the revenue potential, companies and entrepreneurs are investing in EV charging stations. Related investments include companies operating public charging station networks and manufacturing EV components.
Here are ten reasons to invest in an EV charging station.
1. Consumer demand for EV charging continues to grow.
Without widespread public charging stations, EVs could use only the power available from their batteries, severely reducing range. Charging stations allow owners to charge their electric vehicles while running errands, at work, or traveling. For entrepreneurs and business owners, this presents an opportunity.
The most common reason (58%) that American car buyers cite for not buying an EV is fear of not having enough range, i.e., running out of power before they can find a convenient charging station. However, new EV models offer more range, superior technology, and zero emissions, and consumers like what they see.
Even before the current administration introduced substantial tax credits for EV purchases in 2022, 42% of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center said they would consider purchasing an electric vehicle. The breakdown by age group ranges from 31% among those aged 65+ to a whopping 55% of those aged 18-29.
The electric vehicle charging station market was valued at $5.86 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $53.25 billion by 2027.
(Unsplash.com)
2. Governments and Utility Companies are offering generous rebates and incentives.
The federal government has dedicated $5 billion in funding over the next five years to build a national network of EV charging stations. In addition, there are over $2 billion in utility rebates and government grants to help business owners and entrepreneurs get started (see some of the top available incentives by state).
(Pexels.com)
3. An on-site EV charging station can help drive customer visits and increase revenue for your business.
One thing holding many back from switching to EVs is the need for more convenient places to charge their cars. Entrepreneurs and business owners can install chargers at existing businesses to give EV drivers more options.
This can be particularly beneficial for businesses where customers typically stay for a half hour or longer, e.g., restaurants, bars, clubs, entertainment venues, shopping malls, retail centers, hair and nail salons, fitness gyms, and workplaces.
Installing an EV charging station at a location can drive business and revenue. Digital maps such as Google Maps now offer options to search for charging stations, while apps like Plugshare exist specifically to locate public charging stations.
4. The cost of installing an EV charging station may be less than you think.
The cost of starting an EV charging station business will vary based on location, station size, and the type of charging components offered. In general, expect to invest an average of about $4,700 to $6,900 per port for a commercial Level 2 charging station. This covers equipment and basic start-up costs like marketing.
If you have to buy or lease the land on which the station will sit, the total cost can increase to between $10,000 and $50,000. However, adding a charging station can be very lucrative if you own the property.
(Pexels.com)
5. Installation requirements are straightforward and simple to complete.
The primary requirement for installing an EV charging station is an easily accessible location with a reliable electrical power source.
Check with your utility commission to determine if there are any regulations governing the EV charging industry in your state. Beyond that, there may be some minimal local regulatory requirements, such as obtaining a business permit from your municipality, but the overall process is well-documented and straightforward.
5. Turnkey franchise investments are available.
There are several EV charging companies that offer turnkey EV charging solutions. These include the EV charging station, charger installation, permitting, charging station system design, and charger software.
WattLogic and Energys are examples of companies providing turnkey EV charging station franchises. Energys provides a website tool to help you calculate the profit you can make from owning an EV charging station franchise.
6. Return on investment is high.
(Unsplash.com)
The EV charging station business can be lucrative. Although the amount of money you can make depends on factors such as location and size, the owner of an EV charging station can generally expect a profit margin of 25-50%.
In other words, for each dollar you charge a customer to use your charging station, your ROI (profit after paying actual and allocated business costs) is between $0.25 and $0.50.
Your ability to monetize your investment depends on the number of EVs in your area, location quality, number and location of competitors, and more.
For more information on what to charge and how much you can make by owning an EV charging station, see this article at Evbox.com.
7. Opportunities to own charging stations abound.
To find an EV charging station investment opportunity, start with businesses already in the industry. For example, large companies like ChargePoint are always looking for new locations to install their charging stations and may enter into a partnership to use your available property.
Next, look to public places, such as airports, hospitals, and shopping malls, that currently need an EV charging station on site. There is an ever-increasing demand for EV charging stations in high-traffic public locations such as these.
Last but not least, talk to business owners, local governments, and other organizations to see if they are seeking investors or public-private partnerships to add EV charging stations to their facilities.
8. Investing in EV charging stations shows your commitment to sustainability.
(Unsplash.com)
Surveys show that 57% of consumers are willing to change their shopping habits to reduce their environmental impact. Apartmentdata.com found that 61% of renters will pay more to live in an “eco-friendly” apartment building. (There are a lot of other benefits of adding an EV charging station to your MUD.) These highlight a broader trend of people wanting to live, work and shop at environmentally conscious properties. Installing an EV charging station is one way your business can demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and appeal to eco-conscious individuals.
9. Alternatively, you can invest in companies with charging networks.
(Unsplash.com)
Buying stock in companies that own charging networks, like Tesla (TSLA) or ChargePoint (CHPT), can give you a piece of the massive growth in charging infrastructure expected to take place over the next decade.
To gain exposure to the entire market, look at ETFs such as Ultumus that have holdings in companies like Tesla, ChargePoint, Nio (NIO), Albemarle (ALB), BYD, Rivian (RIVN), Lucid (LCID), Aptiv (APTV) and more.
Are you interested in learning more about investing in EV charging infrastructure? Join us at the upcoming EV Charging Summit & Expo!
Contact us to discuss your requirements of 120w poly solar panel supplier, 330W Polycrystalline Photovoltaic Panel, 315 w solar panels. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.