EV charging: A smart investment or a risky gamble for your business?
An opening question to consider. As a business what does it mean if more customers, guests, visitors, potential employees consider you positively and want to turn up at your location? Higher sales, lower vacancy rates, more services consumed? For me the availability of EV charging at your destination might just be one of the emerging reasons that EV drivers will want to come and spend time with you.
Whether or not you drive an EV, you’ve likely noticed the increasing number of vehicles sporting a vivid green stripe on their license plates. While switching to an EV may not yet be feasible for everyone, a growing number of drivers are making the change. By the second half of the 2020s, it's expected that nearly 40% of new vehicles purchased will be electric, with EVs making up approximately 20% of all cars on the road. Moving into the 2030s, these numbers are set to rise further as EV technology matures and delivers price parity with ICE alongside government legislation and incentives directed at EV adoption.
Despite the challenges of today the barriers to EV are dropping away.
Life offers few certainties, but one thing is clear: the growing number of EVs on the road will inevitably drive the demand for more charging infrastructure. For many, home charging will be the most convenient solution. For those without this option, workplace charging could serve as the next best alternative. Where neither is feasible, destination chargers installed at locations people naturally visit may provide a practical solution. And for the relatively rare long-distance journeys, we mustn’t overlook of rapid charging stations.
As a business, this technological shift raises important questions: What does the widespread adoption of EVs mean for you? Should you care and if so, how can embracing the EV revolution help your business grow?
The business case for EV charging
Investing in EV charging is no different from making any other business investment - it should align with core goals such as revenue growth, cost efficiency, competitive advantage, enhanced customer experience. However, there’s often a common pitfall with EV charging: the tendency to narrowly focus on revenue from charging fees as the sole measure of return on investment. While charging fees are a valid metric, they overlook a broader spectrum of significant business benefits, some tangible, others less so.
Consider this example: only 6% of UK hotels currently offer EV charging, yet over 80% of EV drivers searching for accommodation prioritise hotels with charging facilities, and 50% then actively choose hotels that provide it. Imagine the impact on a hotel's business case if offering EV charging helped fill just one additional room per week.
Not in the hotel industry? Let’s talk about workplaces.
How much does your business value retaining and attracting top talent? Likely a great deal. Increasingly, job candidates are influenced by a company’s commitment to sustainability. Installing EV charging points is a visible and actionable way to support employees in reducing their carbon footprint. And here’s a technical but critical point: employee commuting emissions are considered part of your business’s carbon footprint. By investing in EV charging, you’re directly addressing sustainability goals while offering meaningful support to your workforce. A win-win.
Think about EV charging in this way. EV charging attracts people to your location. To your business. How you monetise the time they spend with you is a function of your business however it has a value. This value might outweigh the need to even levy a fee for charging!
Take action!
All on board? What do I do now? How many EV chargers do I need and what type? What will it cost?
It's probably worth checking out Voqa’s companion blog on Destination charging. However first, check out the following model:
Destination Charging investment model
A few simple inputs with guidance from Voqa experts will help you work out:
How many chargers do I need now and in the future
See the impact of different tariffs
Workout if you are eligible for a Government grant
Establish a baseline financial model
Then you can do what you are best at - assign a value to having more visitors at your location. You might be surprised at how attractive and investment in EV charging can be.
Next, armed with your personal investment data, speak to Voqa about how to make your EV charging solution a reality.
