EV Charging Business As A Service: What you need to know

In a couple of years, the price to purchase electric vehicles will be on par with gasoline-powered cars. That shift, along with more countries committing to phasing out fossil-fuel vehicles will cause an explosion in the market demand for EV charging services. 

Whether you’re in the energy, petrol, parking, or retail industry, now is the time to enter the EV charging market. As of now, no industry has a stronghold on the market, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is here for the taking. The businesses that invest in EV charging today will have a clear competitive advantage, while it could be too late for those who wait.

But do you know what it takes to run an EV charging business?

Electric vehicle charging business roles

Traditionally, there are two roles in the EV charging business with two approaches to the market.

Charge Point Operators (CPO) 

• Operates charging points
• Ensures EV networks run smoothly
• Manages diagnostics and device maintenance
• Determines station pricing and handles invoicing

E-Mobility Provider (EMP) 

• Enable access to charging points around a geographic area
• Provides the charging service to EV drivers — drivers are able to locate available charging stations, charge, and pay with various methods. 

To put it simply, a CPO owns the charging infrastructure and an EMP owns the end-users and their services. These roles can be separate, or a single company can act as both.

EV charging responsibilities

Traditionally operating an EV charging service comes with a long list of responsibilities: customer support, technical problem solving, payments, customer credit risk, roaming services, and charger management, just to name a few. Building the necessary capabilities and infrastructure takes quite a bit of resources.

Many companies have thought about offering EV charging services to their customers in order to future-proof their business. But especially for smaller companies, the extensive list of tasks and responsibilities might feel too intimidating.

What if you could skip all the heavy lifting, and become an EV charging service provider right away? With Virta’s branded solution you can.

EV charging business model — EV Charging as a Service

Virta is now offering “EV Charging as a Service” through our branded solution. This gives you the ability to offer EV charging under your brand, while Virta handles all the complexities of running the service. 

It’s no secret that people tend to do business with companies they trust. The same goes for EV charging — people will favour charging with brands they trust. Moreover, companies are quickly realizing that EV charging is a value-added service that can complement their core business.

The off-the-shelf Virta branded solution includes a co-branded registration page, co-branded one-time payment site, and co-branded charging stations to deepen the brand experience. Essentially every customer touchpoint is customized including language, currency, logo, and colours.

Virta branded service benefits

• Increase revenue from your core business, as your customers will stay longer at your station while their cars are charging
• Introduce a new source of predictable revenue: resell branded charging points to your customers
• Boost customer loyalty by offering convenient charging services at home, work, or public stations
• Get access to valuable customer data through Virta’s smart charging services and offer your own promotions and campaigns to registered EV drivers

Minimum effort — maximum benefit

The keyword here is easy. You’ll enjoy a branded customer experience while Virta handles the end-to-end customer experience which includes end-user service, network management, monetization (VATs, roaming contracts, etc.), along with the financial and legal EV driver service risks involved. 

Virta’s branded service is a fully standardized solution that streamlines processes to support faster growth and scalability in existing and new markets. 

Did we mention you’ll also get to leverage Virta’s extensive network? You’ll get exposed to Virta’s customers and Virta’s extended roaming network’s customers.