As the world becomes increasingly concerned about climate change and fossil fuel dependency, we’re exploring new ways to combat it. Electric mobility is one viable option to move us closer to a more sustainable and cleaner future.
Governments, businesses and individuals alike are growing fond of and understanding the importance of this shift from polluting internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric ones.
The automotive sector has been shapeshifting due to the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs), but its impact is reaching far beyond the car industry.
Electric vehicles, and specifically their charging, present a lucrative business opportunity to industries such as hospitality, retail, parking, aviation, the public sector, real estate, and many more.
Suppose the EV market grows as expected; it will reach 240 to 380 million electric vehicles globally by 2030. In that case, the charging infrastructure will have to grow immensely to support this growth, precisely what the predictions say will happen. The EV charging market is expected to grow into a profitable multibillion-euro market by 2030. And that’s where the great opportunity lies for many.
If you’re in any of the previously mentioned industries, all this information might not even be news to you. The growth of the EV market is apparent as customers start to demand EV charging for their electric cars from hoteliers, retailers, parking operators, airports and more.
Electric vehicle charging offers immense opportunities to businesses like yours. If you want to explore how EV charging can serve as a value-added service to your business, this guide is right for you.
In the competitive environment where many businesses find themselves nowadays, meeting customer expectations and offering attractive services is necessary for successful and profitable operations.
Electric vehicle charging quickly becomes a value-added service, soon to be commonly expected by customers everywhere. Let’s dive into the most attractive benefits EV charging can bring you.
Meet customer demand
In a survey we ran with Kantar, 87% of EV drivers say EV chargers on-site impact their choice of a retail store or hotel. Your customers are already asking for convenient EV charging options; if not, they will soon start. Meet your customer expectations and install EV chargers on site.
Attract new customers
EV charging opportunities also attract new customers looking to charge their cars. Your business immediately becomes attractive to a whole new customer group: EV drivers.
Thanks to a service called EV roaming, which works similarly to mobile roaming, EV drivers can charge outside their usual service provider’s network. Including roaming options in your EV charger setup opens up your EV chargers to any out-of-town or country customers – a big pull to your business.
Enhance customer loyalty
Customers who are satisfied with your EV charging services will likely return. EV charging helps you create a loyal customer base that appreciates your sustainable efforts.
Increase dwell time
EV drivers who leave their car charging at your site likely spend more time on your premises, using other services you offer. In an example of a shopping centre, where the average duration of a charging session is 2 hours, each customer could spend an extra 50 minutes of dwell time in your store.
Reach corporate sustainability goals
EV charging can become part of your larger environmental policy, help your business cut harmful emissions and drive positive environmental impact. For many businesses, reducing their CO2 emissions is not only voluntary but rather required.
Shine a positive light on your brand image
Associate your brand with a sustainable effort like EV charging to enhance how your customers view your brand. Customers are becoming more environmentally conscious by the minute and appreciate businesses that are on the same wavelength.
Develop new revenue streams
We’ve already mentioned that EV charging can increase customer dwell time. That directly translates to more purchases and higher revenue. If you’re looking for new revenue streams, EV charging can be the one. Setting up fees and ‘charging for charging’ can bring money directly into your pocket.
Can my business benefit from EV charging as a value-added service?
Electric vehicle charging benefits many industries, from automotive to real estate, but every industry has different needs, motivations and expectations.
Exploring EV charging as a value-added service is worthwhile mainly for the following industries:
• Retail
• Hospitality
• Aviation
• Parking
• Public sector
All businesses have different needs, so while a hotel’s best option might be installing standard EV chargers that charge a car in 8 hours overnight, a retail store might implement fast chargers to offer customers efficiency.
This chapter explores the different types of EV charging, their charging capacities and their best applications.
First, let’s quickly review the difference between AC and DC charging and find out what these acronyms even mean.
Let’s start with the basics - all electricity used to charge an EV leaves the charger as AC (Alternate Current), but to be of any use to the vehicle, it needs to be transformed to DC (Direct Current).
In AC EV charging, the car converts AC electricity into DC with a built-in onboard charger, which prolongs the charging time.
On the other hand, DC charging transforms the current to DC electricity from the start, so there’s no need for conversions inside the vehicle. That’s why DC charging is much faster but often pricier.
Standard AC charging
Standard AC charging, sometimes called ‘slow’ charging, has an electricity output of up to 22 kW and is perfect for long-term charging at airports, hotels and other destinations.
The charging takes any time between 2 and 8 hours, so your customers can enjoy their stay at your premises and leave with a fully charged car.
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Fast DC charging
DC charging can still be divided into fast and ultra-fast, or high-power or rapid charging.
The fast DC charging electricity output ranges from 50 to 150 kW. With its 0.5 to 2 hours of charging time, it best suits locations such as restaurants, retail stores, and grocery stores.
Your customers don’t have to wait for hours and hours to get their cars charged, but they still have enough time to explore your core business and other services you offer.
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Ultra-fast DC charging
Ultra-fast DC charging is the quickest type of EV charging. Nowadays, it still acts as a premium service that offers efficiency and convenience, which customers are willing to pay a bit more for.
Ultra-fast DC charging takes fast charging to another level. With an output of 150 up to 600 kW, it charges an EV in less than 30 minutes. There’s an ever-increasing demand for ultra-fast charging possibilities, so investing in ultra-fast chargers will surely pay off.
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In the previous chapters, we’ve explored all the aspects you should be looking for in a charging solution, and we recapped how implementing EV charging into your business works.
We wouldn’t be surprised if you’re overloaded with information and struggling to grasp the complexity of integrating EV charging into your business.
That’s why we’re here.
At Virta, we understand how overwhelming EV charging can seem. We aim to make EV charging as simple as possible for our customers with our end-to-end charging solution.
We will get the suitable chargers, run a location and ROI analyses and install the hardware for you.
And while in operation, we’ll keep track of maintenance and firmware updates for your EV charging stations. That way, you can always fully focus on your core business.
But running EV charging operations isn’t solely about the hardware. To be able to deploy smart EV charging, you will need your EV chargers to be connected to a cloud-based solution. Virta’s EV chargers are automatically equipped with our back-end solution, the Virta Hub, so there’s no need to develop such a solution yourself.
The Virta Hub lets you remotely monitor, manage and optimise your EV charging business. From having an overview of all your EV charging stations to managing your energy needs, everything is available to you with only a few clicks.
And what about all the other complexities? We take those off your shoulders as well. Just have a look.
Corporate fleets: How to prepare your employees for electrification
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