Everyone knows that electric vehicles (EVs) are the future. As we move towards lower and even zero emissions, EVs are key to achieving our sustainability goals as a planet. This is why an EV charging business is extremely relevant and offers attractive growth projections.
Already, the market was valued at $11 billion in 2021 by Global Market Insights. The company also forecasted an optimistic compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 27% from 2022 to 2030.
If you’re considering starting an EV charging business, we’ll brief you on all you need to know. We’ll mention important considerations, how it can complement your existing business, and what you can do to ensure success.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Business Approaches To Consider
Bloomberg predicts that by 2040 at least two-thirds of global car sales will be electric vehicles. Investors and business owners who are looking for fast-growing industries would thus be wise to consider an EV charging business.
As with any venture, it’s vital to consider your objectives before investing any capital. Here are two of the biggest reasons for starting an EV charging business:
1. For Conservation and Sustainability
An EV charging business is a clear and strong sign of your business’ conservation and sustainability efforts. It can be used to diversify into a more environmentally friendly direction and foster goodwill in the business community as well as the public.
Having more environmentally conscious initiatives is a universal need that most people are aware of. A Cone Communications CSR Study revealed that 87% of consumers are more inclined to purchase a product if a company supports an issue they care about.
If you own an EV charging facility, you can leverage it to increase brand recognition by mentioning it in your marketing campaigns. You can craft promotional offers such as discounted rates as well as free EV charging if they make purchases that are worth a certain amount from your other businesses.
2. Recouping Energy Costs
With the ongoing shift towards sustainable and eco-friendly living, governments are offering grants and subsidies for businesses that are installing EV charging stations.
These incentive programs can help recoup your installation costs and out-of-pocket expenses.
Customer Service Considerations for EV Charging Businesses
Just like any business, customer service is extremely important in an EV charging business. Here are three things to keep an eye on to ensure that you have happy clients.
1. Address Customer Concerns
EVs and EV charging stations are relatively new compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. It’s thus natural for customers to have more questions about compatibility, the technology, and how the whole process works.
Anticipate frequently asked questions by making answers readily available. Make sure that you have a customer service staff that thoroughly understands the technology and can manage customers well. Be prepared to ease their concerns and assure them of the safety of your charging stations.
Additionally, you can also offer customers information about issues they may face in the future and prepare them by offering contacts that can help them.
Proactively working to make your customers feel like their vehicles are in good hands will go a long way in making your charging station stand out.
2. Equip Service Teams With the Right Knowledge
Quality customer service is highly dependent on the knowledge and skills of the service team. Equipping your service team with enough information to answer queries that customers may have is thus crucial for offering memorable and effective customer service.
Basic training regarding troubleshooting and servicing EV cars and understanding how they function also go a long way in boosting quality customer service.
3. Simplify the Customer’s Experience
To provide exemplary customer service, simplify the customer’s experience as much as possible.
Navigating the EV charging ecosystem can be complicated. EV owners may be hesitant to trust an unknown EV charging business with their vehicles. However, if you can provide them with the right information and offer advice for understanding how EV chargers work, you can help build trust.
Why Is It Important to Optimize Your EV Charging Business?
An efficient EV charging business is paramount to its success. Operations that run smoothly are more likely to be frequented by electric vehicle owners and have lower liability risks. Here are other reasons why you need to continuously review and optimize your facility’s operations:
Makes Maintenance and Troubleshooting Easier
Your charging stations are your revenue generators. If they break down, people won’t be able to use them and you lose out on sales. Hence, the ability to monitor operations, quickly solve infrastructure issues, and keep downtime to a minimum will directly impact your bottom line.
This is why monitoring and optimization software like the one offered by Ampcontrol is essential for an efficient and profitable EV charging business. Ampcontrol’s cloud-based solution connects to any EV charger, giving owners access to real-time data. This lets managers monitor charging performance and address any issues as early as possible.
Scalable Infrastructure
Expanding your EV charging facility can cause a degradation in performance and lead to operational issues. As the number of EVs rise and demand for charging stations grow, an optimized infrastructure lets you readily grow your business without purchasing additional hardware.
You can easily increase the number of chargers you have or offer more types of chargers.
Reduces Energy Costs, Improves Profits and Manageability
Since EV charging businesses are largely reliant on electricity, how they use it can make a huge difference to their profitability.
An optimized network of EV chargers requires smart charging management system. Load management uses software-based solutions to manage electricity when charging stations are operating at the same time. An effective load management solution controls the flow of energy between the different chargers so that each EV that’s being charged receives the desired amount of power.
By doing so, an EV charging facility can avoid overloading the power grid and damaging expensive equipment. Since it distributes power more efficiently, it can also lower energy costs.
Depending on your business model, you can opt for dynamic load management or first-in-first-charged load management.
Dynamic Load Sharing
Dynamic load sharing ensures that all vehicles are charged at the same rate. It’s ideal for charging a large number of vehicles simultaneously. This is frequently used by EV charging businesses that charge fleets of vehicles and facilities that require an equal distribution of energy across charging stations.
Final Thoughts
An EV charging business is a progressive, environmentally friendly, and promising venture. It can promote goodwill for your business and make you eligible for certain government incentives.
We hope this article has provided you with deeper insights into what an EV charging business can do for you and what you need to make it successful!
To learn more, talk to one of our EV experts here.
