Electric Car Charging Stations Business Opportunity

The Electric Vehicles (EVs)market is witnessing an exponential rise in sales with more than 10 million cars sold last year. With more people realizing the need to switch to sustainable forms of transportation, EVs are gaining momentum in the global auto industry.

That’s not all. The global sales of EVs are projected to rise further in 2023 and cross 14 million by this year. While the rollout of electric vehicles is cutting a massive amount of fuel consumption, it is estimated that the rise in EVs at the current rate will save nearly 5 million barrels of oil by 2030. That is huge!

However, the explosive growth of EVs in recent years raises a big question. Are there enough electric charging stations at convenient locations to sustain the growing number of EVs on the street?

The EV charging infrastructure is inadequate to support the dramatic rise of EVs in the USA.

Nevertheless, this scenario is providing an affluent opportunity for real-estates with parking spaces to generate additional income by installing a public EV charging station.

With the use of EVs soaring high in the USA, nearly 1 million EV charging stations are needed. As the government plans to allocate funding for charging stations, that still needs time. It eventually opens up electric car charging business opportunities for the private sector, including commercial outlets, shops, offices, hotels, and residential buildings.

If you are willing to grab such an opportunity for your commercial space, this blog will be a brilliant guide. From explaining how to get a charging station installed to exploring the myriad earning opportunities it covers everything. Let’s get started.

How To Install and Get Started With an EV Charging Station at Your Business?

The idea of installing an EV charging station or charging dock has become an affluent business opportunity for commercial shops and real-estates. If you are into it, then do not just jump into the installation process. There’s a streamlined approach to the charging station installation, and you need to plan the steps accordingly.

You need a reliable EV charging installation contractor who will walk you through the entire planning and installation process smoothly.

Here’s a step-by-step guide for you to establish an EV charging station.

1. Site assessment

The first step of an EV charging infrastructure installation involves assessing the site to determine the specific power and equipment requirements. An assessment of the site first includes the inspection of the space available for the charging station and the load of the current electrical system.

If you partner with a professional EV charging electrical company, they will start assisting you from this initial assessment step.

2. Plan the EV charging infrastructure

To realize the best out of electric car charging stations business opportunity, you need to plan the station infrastructure, intelligently. Ensure that your infrastructure accommodates your current needs. But you can also expand it in the future to meet the charging needs of a growing number of EVs.

While planning the installation of the electric charger, consider the following basic aspects.

Number of charging points and parking spaces required
Level 2, AC, and DC fast charging requirements
Distance/proximity to electrical service source
Climatic conditions (special equipment like cord management for protection from snow)
Installation of lights and security cameras
Need for solar cells or battery power storage system
SMART chargers/advanced network chargers that operate with Wi-Fi connectivity
Additional equipment and chargers required for future expansion
Equipment and facilities required for installation of the chargers

3. Decide a construction budget and installation timeline

For converting your extra commercial space into an EV charging station investment, estimate a budget and installation timeline based on your needs.

For calculating the budget, you need to consider the grants and tax incentives you are getting for the station installation. It will eventually offset your capital investment.

To determine the installation time, consider the availability and procurement of the infrastructure facilities and charging station equipment. While the installation hardly takes place 15-20 days, the total installation timeline depends on how much time you need to procure the essential supplies.

4. Get permits from local authorities

It is a vital step of EV charger installation in your commercial space. You need to consider compliance requirements and permission for installing the station to ensure the safety of operation.

The charging infrastructure installed at your place must be compliant with SAE international standards. Also, every charging installation should comply with the regulations and codes provided by local and regional authorities, including the Electrical Commission.

This is also a reason you need to plan and execute the electric charging station installation with a reliable contractor. They will assess the site for compliance with regulations, do the necessary paperwork, and go through the procedures for obtaining essential permits.

5. Site preparation

For preparing the site for construction of the electrical charging station, assemble or collect the components at the site. This step involves prewiring the site, repairing or renovating the landscape, laying concrete, or asphalting the surface.

This step ensures equipping and preparing the site completely for accommodating the charging station.

6. Installation

The main installation procedure can take place from 15-30 days depending on the size of the site or the number of chargers you are installing. Your electrical contractor team has started working on electrical charging station deployment. The process involves running conduits, electrical wiring, and necessary piping.

Your electrical contractor will also take responsibility for all the other tasks related to installation, such as fixating routers and equipment to connect to your property’s existing network, installation of light poles, placing security cameras, and so on.

7. Develop a service and maintenance plan

After the installation process is complete, you need to prepare a service and maintenance plan to ensure that your EV charging station operates efficiently in the long run.

A reliable EV charging company will assist you with its service and maintenance. It will continuously assess your electricity consumption and ensure load balancing to prevent power surges, overpowering, and subsequent shutting down of the station.

A professional electrical company also has a team continuously monitoring the station operations to identify faults, troubleshoot issues, and replace equipment parts. So, when you seek to install an EV charging station, it is wise to partner with a company that provides you with a plan for service and maintenance.

5 Compelling Business Benefits of Installing EV Charging Stations

The significant upsurge in the sale of EVs is especially due to the federal policies and goals regarding sustainability and green transportation. As the market of EVs is expanding steadily, a lot of EV chargers are necessary across the country to meet the growing needs in the long run.

You can help meet the needs by leasing your commercial space to install an e-charging station and be a part of the expansive EV charging network. Whether you run a restaurant, a retail shop, a hotel, a bar, a supermarket, or a workspace, you can add an EV charging station to your property.

The reason for installing a charging station goes beyond meeting the sustainability goals. You get a lot of assured benefits out of your EV charging station investment.

1. Generate additional income

A direct benefit of installing an EV charging station at your commercial place is the generation of a passive income stream. There are a few models of operating EV charging stations and yielding an income from them.

Charging customers based on kilowatt consumption per hour.
Charging some additional fees over the parking fee from the customers.
Billing the customers by the time spent with the cars plugged in.

While you can adopt any of these models to earn from your EV charging station, there’s another way to secure a monthly fixed income out of it. You can lease the space to an EV charging contractor/company on an agreed rent fee. Once your station starts operating in full swing, you start getting the rent fees every month.

Your profits or earnings from the operation of the EV charging station depend on the revenue earned minus the costs for periodic maintenance, software management, security facilities, and higher electricity bills.

2. Draw more customers

This benefit convinces retailers, restaurants, and hospitality businesses to install an EV charging station. An EV charging station attracts more customers to their shops or outlets as they will have the convenience of charging their EVs while spending time at your shop.

In other words, you have higher traffic to your commercial place after installing a charging station. This will eventually contribute to your sales and revenue. While Level 2 chargers charge an EV battery to full, within an hour, DC fast chargers do that in 45 minutes.

A customer who is charging his or her vehicle will intend to spend the entire charging time at your shop or restaurant, which causes higher “dwell time”. This dwell time allows you to inform customers, sell products/services, convey your brand message, or engage with them.

More dwell-time of customers at your commercial facility eventually builds loyalty towards your business or service. They will come to you without a second thought the next time they need your product/service.

3. Brand visibility

EV charging stations are high in demand these days with drivers looking for convenient charging station locations while traveling. To help them quickly discover a station, the EV charging stations are listed on Google Maps and major navigation apps.

EV drivers while searching for the nearest charging stations will come across the name of your store/outlet on the Map and will visit you. Installing an EV charging station, therefore, puts your business name in multiple useful apps. It subsequently boosts your brand visibility online and makes it known to many.

4. Employee satisfaction

Workspaces or offices with EV charging stations installed have witnessed higher satisfaction from their employees.

Wondering why?

More employees are switching to electric cars for daily commuting to work as they are cost-effective clean energy transportation options. As a result, businesses with EV charging solutions on their property have employees appreciating the facility to charge their EVs free of cost.

Free charging at the workplace keeps the employees happier and might reduce their turnover, which eventually results in efficient operations.

6. Improve your brand image

An EV charging station at your business place or shop sends a message about your sustainability efforts to the customers. It represents that you strive to curb environmental impacts, and that builds a positive image of your brand.

Today, more than half of customers are willing to pay for sustainable brands as they care for the planet and environment. By investing in an EV charging station at your business property, you represent your brand’s commitment to the environment and help build customer loyalty.

Investing in EV Charging Stations: How To Do It?

While the above section explained why to invest in a renewable energy charging station, you might be now interested to know how to invest in ev charging station. If you are willing to be a lessor to an EV charging company like ours, just contact the company. We will send a team to inspect your site and proceed with the installation procedure.

There are no specific conditions to invest in an electric charging station business opportunity. To become a lessor, all you need is an open parking space at your property. Needless to say, the property must be located at a convenient location, preferably near highway entrances/exits.

Apart from contacting the company and applying for the e-station installation, you have no responsibility or cost of investment. We prepare the e-station lease contract and pay our leasing agent first. Once the station starts operating, we start paying the rent to the lessor.

As the EV charging company, we are fully responsible for handling all the aspects of e-station installation. We assess the space, invest in its improvements, install a single or 3-phase electric supply service, obtain permits, and plan the site construction. Our engineers and electrical contractors are fully responsible for installing the e-charging equipment, security cameras, and other services equipment.

Installing an electric charging station is a zero-cost investment but gives you higher potential returns.

We will finance your e-charging station installation project making capital investments required for equipment and site preparation. You get returns in the form of rent per month. In addition, an electric car charging station brings revenue opportunities in the form of passive income flow, a higher number of customers, extended stay of customers, more sales, and revenue from ad signage.

Cost estimations of EV charging stations:

Installing higher-level chargers (Level 3 and Level 4) will cost more than lower-level chargers (Level 2). Unless the station’s utilization is higher, it is difficult to recover the cost of installing higher-level chargers.

On average, the capital expenditures of all levels of chargers are:

Level 2: Between $770 and $1800.
Level 3: Around $50000
Level 4: Around $70000

Apart from the cost of chargers, there are other costs involved in the installation of an EV station, which includes infrastructure costs (mainly electrical conduits), soft costs (building signage, security port, parking spots, etc.), and software development costs.

While no doubt the costs of installing an EV charging station are higher, there are several options to finance it.

Partnership with specialized EV charging providers
Negotiating with vehicle manufacturers
Grants from state or local governments

Is an EV charging station a good investment for you?

EV charging station is undeniably a wise investment opportunity for you. While it is costly to invest in the infrastructure, you never have to worry about a bit of it if you have a professional company like ours by your side.

Once you have installed the electric charging station, you get several potential returns or earning opportunities.

Monthly rent from the electric EV company.
Recharge fee based on hourly or consumption basis from the EV drivers.
Payment from local brands/businesses for hosting digital advertisements.
More dwell-time of customers at your commercial store, which eventually results in sales.
New customers and many EV drivers find your store as a convenient charging location and end up buying your products/services.

Electric Car Charging Business Opportunities Available For Commercial Facilities

Commercial facilities that can use their underutilized spaces for EV charging stations include retail shops, supermarkets, restaurants, bars, convenience stores, office buildings, hotels, supermarkets, shopping malls, theaters, and hospitality centers.

With more than half of EV charging done in public places, equipping your commercial facility with an efficient e-charging station will provide you with some brilliant business opportunities.

Here are some keys to realizing electric car charging station business opportunities at your commercial place.

Commercial facilities at residential locations with no charging facilities have the maximum possibility to earn by installing a charging station. This includes urban dwellings with on-street parking, multifamily buildings, and congested neighborhoods without garages.
While setting up a charging station in your business space, consider how much time your customers spend there when they do not charge their cars. It will help you decide whether you need fast charging or not at your place. For instance, people tend to spend more hours at places like office buildings, hotels, and hospitals, and you can install slower chargers that require an EV to charge within 5-6 hours. Installing EV charging stations with low-level chargers is less expensive, and, therefore, you can afford them easily. However, that means you need to install the costly fast chargers at retail shops, convenience stores, rest stops, malls, and restaurants where people tend to spend less time.
After installing the charging stations at your business, consider multiple options to earn out of it. You can charge rent to the EV charging technology provider or share the costs with your tenants (if it is a shared business space, multi-office buildings, shopping center, etc.). Either way, you get a fixed revenue stream from your EV charging business opportunity. Another effective way to earn from the e-charging station is by asking for a charging fee from the drivers, based on the time taken to charge their EVs i.e., power consumption.
Commercial places with shorter dwell times, such as restaurants, cafeterias, service centers, malls, and supermarkets automatically attract more customers by installing a fast car charging facility, which approximately takes 45 minutes to charge. They may end up spending more time at your business, which subsequently boosts your sales.

Seek Help From EV Charging Service Providers

Installing an EV charging infrastructure needs a great deal of planning and costs. From designing and site preparation to procuring equipment and fixating the charging point hardware, there are many tedious steps involved.

You also need a local electric service provider to help install additional electrical storage or solar panels to meet the extra consumption needs. You will also need a software application for managing the operation of multiple chargers, monitoring charging activities, detecting issues, and calculating charging fees. Sounds challenging, right?

For all these reasons, consider going into a partnership with a local electric charging company. Give your unused parking space to them and see how they get it transformed into a convenient charging stop with seamless installation of the charging infrastructure.

Why To Utilize Level 2 Electric Car Charging Stations For Revenue?

The rapid transition to electric cars for sustainable transportation is hard to beat if there are not enough public chargers across the roads. As the private sector is joining to meet the power needs arising from the EV revolution, your business can also be one of them.

To leverage electric car charging stations as a business opportunity to the fullest, we recommend you go for Level 2 chargers.

Most of the EV drivers, who are on the road during a large part of the day cannot rely on a home charging system. Their EVs might run out of charge after driving hours, and they look for charging stations at convenient stops such as a shopping store, their workplace, or other rest stops while running from one destination to another.

Level 2 charging stations are more appropriate for investment if you want to realize more returns from your electric vehicle charging business opportunities. It is because they are suitable for offering public charging facilities, whether it is a home or a commercial place.

Level 2 charging stations appealing to both businesses and customers for the following reasons.

1. Fast charging:

Level 2 chargers use 240 Volt electric charging outlets. It means they can charge a vehicle much faster than the Level 1 charger since they have higher energy output. You can have more vehicles charged during your business hours and hence, have more revenue flowing in if you charge the drivers.

2. Seamless charging:

Level 2 chargers are best for public charging because they are super-easy to connect and charge EVs. Drivers just need to attach the nozzle cord of the charging plant with the integrated J plug of their vehicle. With such a hassle-free and self-charging charging system, you can coax more drivers to stop at your business place to get their vehicles charged and might engage them in buying some products/services from you.

3. Intelligent charging:

Level 2 chargers being an advanced version of EV chargers come with integrated software. It helps to provide insights into charging activity and enables the drivers to adjust the power levels. While this also makes Level 2 charges a costly investment, it is worthy of installation at retail spaces, supermarkets, office buildings, restaurants, college campuses, and hospitals where foot traffic is more or the dwell time of customers is less.

4. Drives revenue:

Naturally, with fast charging capacity, the Level 2 chargers at your station will help you charge more vehicles per day. If you are charging the drivers every time they put their vehicles on charge, then evidently, you earn a hefty amount of extra cash at the end of the day.

5. More visibility of your business:

Providing public charging facilities at your business place gets you noticed in many navigation sites or apps, including Google Maps. Anyone looking for a charging service EV while running errands or going to their workplace will come across your store. This way your business gets online visibility and some unexpected customers who otherwise would have never visited you.

All these reasons make Level 2 charging appealing to business owners. We too recommend going for it if you are looking for electric vehicle business opportunities at your commercial place.

What About Those Who Don’t Own a Business?

Although we are talking about electric car charging stations as a business opportunity for commercial facilities, it does exclude those who don’t own a business shop or building.

If you do not own a business, you can still invest in an EV charging station by leasing the extra parking space of your residence. Any reliable EV charging company like ours will help you transform your home’s parking space into a convenient charging location. Once you contact us, our team will start with site analysis and EV charging infrastructure planning.

We will take full responsibility for installing the EV charging equipment along with buying equipment, doing paperwork for permissions, and complying with state and local regulations.

Apart from installing, and managing an EV charging station is complex too. Most EV charging installation providers have an intuitive software app for that. EV charging station management software is easier with it as you can access real-time charging information, ensure load management, set prices and timings, and track the charging activities of vehicles.

When it comes to installing an electrical charging station at your home, make sure you learn to operate the management software or app. Since it is a bit tricky and needs time to learn, we suggest partnering with us is the right thing to do! We will walk with you at every step, ensuring you earn sufficiently from an EV charging installation without taking any trouble.

Overview Of The Current Infrastructure for EV Charging: Is It Enough?

The United States is having a severe lack in its current EV charging infrastructure, given the massive shift from fuel-based cars to EVs. The federal government has set a target to make half of the cars electric by 2030.

On one hand, the sale of EVs is surpassing everyone’s expectations in the market and has reached the one million mark this year.

On the other hand, there is an evident gap in the charging infrastructure.

With nearly 51% of consumers considering using EVs, the current size of the EV charging infrastructure is inadequate with approximately 51,000 chargers being built and operational. Surprisingly, the current charger network remains under-utilized with only 5% utilization and a 0.5% fleet penetration.

However, we assume that the utilization will grow as the government and EV charging companies are together making investments to expand the network.

The key reasons behind under-utilization of many EV chargers are:

Non-convenient locations.
Lack of fast charging speed.
Lack of basic amenities like security, reservation apps, etc.
Frequent issues like overheating during peak power usage.

So, the real challenge is to build a comprehensive fast charging network while ensuring advanced and fast charging capacities with Level 2 and Level 3 chargers at the stations.

Given the present scenario and federal goal of reaching a zero-emission vehicle economy by 2030, nearly 120,000 to 235,000 chargers are needed. With convenient locations, EV consumers also need fast charging facilities and they are ready to pay premium charges. It is also necessary as there will be more cars on the road, and a time-consuming charging process will lead to crowding and longer wait times at every charging station.

To meet the gap, private sector electrical companies and EV companies are currently intervening in the market. As we expect the EV charging market to grow, investment opportunities will subsequently flow in. While standalone EV charging companies are to gain the most due to this, business owners and real estate owners are also going to have a share of the pie.

Interestingly, smaller locations or business shops are suitable locations for fast charging as they are more in number and are situated at preferred locations. With the need to install a vast number of chargers across the country, both EV charging providers and businesses are going to benefit.How Electric Car Charging Stations As Business Opportunity Generate Passive Income?

The potential of fast electric vehicle charging stations is a lot, which is consistently inviting businesses to have a charging station at their commercial building or space.

Earlier, the slow charging infrastructure had many problems that disappointed the EV drivers. But, the new upgraded fast-charging technology is providing affluent opportunities to businesses. While fast charging necessitates the installation of Level 2 chargers, it gives you excellent scope to generate passive income in the following ways.

1.EV charging price:

You can either charge the EV drivers based on the hours of charging or a fixed subscription cost. Public EV charging stations at local stores or convenience stores mostly operate on an hourly basis. Offices and multifamily buildings operate charging stations based on monthly subscriptions. In whatever way you choose to charge EV drivers, it will ensure a definite source of income for you.

2. Rent for leasing your space:

Installing an EV charging station by yourself isn’t easy. You have to partner with a standalone EV charging company that will help you with the installation and maintenance of the station. When you lease your space for a charging station to the company, it pays you a monthly rent and is another way to start earning.

3. Attracting new customers:

Having an EV charging station installed brings more customers to your business. While it gives additional a benefit to your existing customers and increases their loyalty, it also draws the attention of many new customers towards your store. Your business is listed as an EV charging station on the navigation apps, which enables people living in proximity or driving through your location to easily discover your business. It brings new customers to you and might generate income if they make a sale.

4. More spend time of customers:

With an EV charging facility, the spend time of customers at your store increases. On average, an EV needs at least 45-60 minutes to charge. It compels them to explore your store, discover products, or engage with your service agents. So, in the meantime, they can end up purchasing your product/service.

Revenue streams of EV charging stations

Summing up, these are potential revenue streams of an EV charging station in your business space.

EV charging fees are based on power consumption by the vehicles
EV charging fees based on time for charging
Rent fees
Advertisement fees for offering digital signage to local businesses/brands

What Are Partnership Opportunities for Installing EV Infrastructure?

On-the-go EV charging facilities are growing across the country as the federal goal towards sustainable transportation has become a serious concern in the economy. While public sector intervention was a necessary step, many retail stores and commercial property owners started to gain from the electric car charging stations business opportunity.

However, by implementing an EV charging station in your business space, partners play a vital role! From providing technical expertise for hosting a Supercharger station to executing the installation, you need reliable partners at every step.

Here are the key partners you need in your journey of installing an EV charging station at your place.

1. State-level partners:

State or governmental agencies, including environmental authorities, transportation agencies, and electrical agencies are potential stakeholders. They provide you with technical assistance and knowledge that you need to install an e-station.

2. Local and regional partners:

You might need to partner with several local and regional agencies to assist you in planning your EV charging facility. Tribal planning and development agencies can also get involved, which will help you to align your EV charging project according to the available funds and local transportation planning efforts.

3. Electricity supply agencies:

They are a critical partner in any EV charging installation project. Apart from providing technical advice regarding the installation of the charger, they directly assist in connecting the charger to the local power grid. They are often a long-term partner in your EV installation project as they will adjust the supply of electricity according to the growing charging needs of your charging station.

4. Charging networks/EV charging providers:

Charging network partners are usually the EV charging companies that own the stations, take charge of installation, operate them, and maintain them. Apart from tracking the charging activity at the stations, they also offer expertise needed for upgrading the chargers, repairing and replacement services, and addressing operational issues.

5. Site hosts:

These include business shops, tourist destinations, workplaces/offices, malls, convenience stores, municipality sites, and community centers. They are the ones that lease their space for hosting an e-charging station and directly contribute to the expansion of the EV charging infrastructure. Evidently, as a business owner, you only have the opportunity to partner as a site host in an EV charging station project.

What Support Does EV Charging Service Providers Offer?

EV charging services providers are critical partners in an installation project. Installing an EV charging station is a massive effort, which needs huge investment for planning, designing the site, getting permissions, procuring charging equipment and hardware, and executing the installation.

All of these make installing an EV charging station truly a backbreaking job for a business considers installing a station to earn some additional revenue.

Here’s how you can benefit by engaging with an EV charging service provider for a station installation.

1. Planning and site assessment

The EV charging service provider will come to your site to assess its eligibility for a charging station. It will evaluate whether your available power options are suitable for it, and if not, it will plan for a battery storage or solar cell arrangement to meet the consumption needs. Its team will also check for ADA compliance i.e., the chargers are accessible to people with any disabilities.

It also assesses the site meticulously to evaluate the specific charging equipment and any extra wiring required for your space.

2. Getting permits

When you entrust the installation of an EV charging station to a service provider, it is also their responsibility to get the permits from local authorities, including electrical, fire, energy, and environmental regulatory agencies. If your business is located in a shared space, you will also need the permission of the local building authorities.

Lastly, municipalities and regional authorities have specified codes or regulations for the public charger installations within their territories. The service provider appoints experts who will do all necessary paperwork on your behalf for obtaining permits from the concerned agencies.

3. Procurement solutions

The appointed EV charging service provider has dedicated procurement agents. They will purchase the right equipment required for installing the charger and ensure the supply of electricity based on your site assessment.

Apart from procuring the necessary equipment, they will also take care of vital aspects of installation, including capital requirements, equipment leasing options, logistics, and software requirements.

4. Site engineering and construction

Once the service provider purchases and assembles the components, it is time for site engineering and construction. It has a team of electrical engineers and contractors who will work to build a fully efficient EV charging station design. Having inherent experience and know-how of e-station construction, they will ensure a turnkey installation at your site.

If it is an unused site, they will prewire or modify the wiring if it has an old construction.

5. Service and maintenance

When you have a service provider by your side, you do not have to worry about maintaining, servicing, and repairing the e-station in the long run. The provider operates back office software to continuously monitor the charging station operation, diagnose problems whenever they arise, and send field technicians to resolve them.

The provider will also ensure in-field service for seamless operation of the station. The software maintains communication between charging stations to ensure a balanced electrical feed. This is necessary to prevent power surges or shortages at any time and disrupt the operations of the charging station. In other words, they ensure efficient performance of the station with minimization of downtime.

6. Software and app

With intuitive back-office software, the service provider controls and maintains the operation of the e-station. It accesses real-time insights such as charging sessions, power consumption, pricing, revenue, etc.

It also provides a user-friendly mobile app that helps e-station owners to engage with their drivers. It helps them manage their charging activity effortlessly with functions, such as scheduling a charging session, tracking charging status, and making online payments.

What Are The Profit Potential of EV Charging Stations?

No point in guessing that an EV charging station in your business space is a profitable venture.

EV drivers are willing to pay for fast charging, and that’s how you earn profits out of your EV infrastructure investment.

While you are sure to earn a certain amount of profit from your EV charging installation, the profit potential typically depends on the pricing models you use.

There are three main pricing models:

Cost per KWH: EV drivers EV owners only pay according to the amount of electricity their vehicle consumes.
Flat rate: Drivers pay based on the time they spend while charging.
Combined system: Drivers pay both, an hourly rate and a price for the energy consumed.

The profits you earn under each pricing model simply depend on the number of EV drivers you attract. The more, the better!

Several other factors that influence the charging station profitability of the e-station are:

1. Station location

The location of your business shop determines the conveyance of your e-station to the EV drivers. It directly impacts the profitability of your station. If your station is at a convenient location such as, near highway entrances and exits, city streets, community centers, office complexes, college/school campuses, and residential complexes.

The more convenient your location is, the greater the chance of EV drivers coming to your station, and enhances profitability.

2. Footfall or traffic at your business:

The footfall or traffic at your business/shop/restaurant directly impacts the profit potential of your supercharger station. If your business has more footfalls every day, you are likely to have more customers with EVs to charge at your station and raise higher profits for you.

3. Level of charging

Since time is valuable for anyone, drivers are always willing to pay more for charging their vehicles faster. This ensures that having upgraded levels of chargers (Level 2 and Level 3 charging) at your station will result in greater profitability.

Even though the cost of installing them is higher, you can easily recover that by providing super-fast charging facilities to the drivers. A fast charging facility means it takes less time for every car to charge. This implies you can afford to charge more cars every day, and hence, earn more profits.

4. Ease of charging

How easily the EV chargers can connect or plug with your installed charger also impacts your profitability. The complicated charging method was a major reason earlier that kept many public EV chargers underutilized. Besides, the unreliability and uncertainty of those chargers made it impossible for drivers to charge faster or more efficiently.

However, standalone EV charger service providers made enough advancements in the technology and came up with simple plug-and-charge systems that ensure ease of charging for drivers. If your station has such a user-friendly charging system installed, you are supposed to get more drivers and earn more profits.

5. Payment methods

If you offer multiple payment options to drivers, your profitability will be higher. EV drivers on the run mostly do not carry cash. If you provide payment flexibility through contactless cards, credit/debit cards, mobile wallet payments, app payments, or QR code scanners, you will have more drivers coming to your station. Payment convenience also increases the loyalty of your customers and ensures greater profitability.

Types of Charging Fees For EV Charging Stations

To realize the electric car charging station business opportunity, you need to follow the right fee structure for your customers or visitors.

To make the most of EV business opportunities, we assume the following EV charging business models are most beneficial for investors today.

1. Charging fees based on power consumption

It depends on the amount of energy consumed by a vehicle. You have a set a price for the energy first. On average, it is $0.15 per KWH across the country. But, you have full freedom to set your price according to your profit expectations. If you set it to $0.20, your revenue will be calculated with the total KWH consumption.

For instance, a car takes up 25KWH in a charging session. In that case, you will earn 25KWH x $0.20= $5.

2. Charging fees based on time

At this time, the fee is charged based on the time taken by a car to charge its vehicle. In this case, you need to set a price rate for every hour, such as $3.00 per hour. For instance, if a car takes 2 hours to charge, the revenue you get is $3 x 2= $6.

3. Combined charging fees

Under this model, both the above pricing models are applied. You have a minimal hourly rate and also charge drivers according to the energy consumed by the car.

Suppose, your station’s hourly rate is $0.20, and simultaneously, you charge $0.50/KWH. Thus, a vehicle that took 3 hours to charge and has pulled 35 KWH will give you the revenue- $2.00X3 + $35x0.50 = $23.5.

4. Fees for fast-charging

You can also charge a driver based on the fast charging facilities that you provide. While AC chargers take more time i.e., approximately 4-6 hours to charge a vehicle full, DC chargers do that in 45 minutes to 1 hour. So, if you have installed DC charges for fast charging, you can charge an extra fee or premium fee above your hourly or power consumption charge from the drivers.

How Does An EV Charging Station Increase the Average Duration of Customer Interaction?

One of the greatest benefits of an EV charging station franchise is that it provides an amazing cross-selling opportunity to the business. Whether it is a regular office employee who has stopped on his way to work or a rideshare driver who needs to charge at your store, you have the opportunity to sell them your products or services.

For instance, if you are operating a snack store, the employee can think of grabbing an item for his lunch while getting his vehicle charged. Likewise, a rideshare driver can have something for his lunch while charging.

If it is a retail store, the drivers can take a walk through your store to find any essential products to buy. In a way, you can increase the willingness of drivers to visit your store to charge by offering some products/services.

Increasing the time spent by customers at your e-station is the key to earning more revenue. Apart from offering high-quality products or services, other convenient methods for increasing customer time at your charging station are:

Comfortable restrooms
Good snacks/refreshments (if it is not a food store/restaurant)
Better security
Free Wi-Fi connectivity

In other words, you should seek to improve the customer experience to draw more EV drivers to your business.

Key Ways To Attract Customers To Your EV Charging Station

According to recent research, a majority of EV users are educated and high-income earners. As a result, to attract this segment of customers you need some appealing facilities at your EV charging station.

Here are some effective ways to attract and retain EV consumers at your charging station.

Addressing the sustainability needs of consumers: As the world is gradually embracing sustainability, you need to showcase your stewardship to environmental responsibility. Make sure you built your EV charging facility with energy-efficient chargers to resonate with the goals of eco-conscious EV users.

1. Improving custom experience:

Do not forget that EV charging stations are increasing across the country. To attract more number of drivers, make sure you offer ease of charging, good rest stop facilities, customer support, etc., to improve their experience. It eventually turns them into your loyal customers/EV charge consumers.

2. Building competitive advantage:

Seek to build a competitive advantage for your EV station to get maximum visitors and revenue. You can do that by offering Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 chargers that ensure fast charging and set affordable charging fees.

3. Partnerships and collaborations:

To help your e-station reach out to faraway places, partnerships and collaborations with EV makers, charging network providers, and local brands will help. You can initial joint promotions or co-marketing efforts to make your station more popular.

4. Incentives or cross-promotions:

A sure-shot way to draw more number of consumers to your e-station is cross-promotions with your main business. For instance, you can offer additional discounts to customers who charge their EVs at your station.

How Does An EV Charging Station Improve Business Reputation?

Leveraging the electric car charging stations business opportunity gives recognition to your brand and builds its reputation.

Want to how an EV charging station contributes to building your brand reputation? Here are the ways.

1. Get listed on Maps:

Opening up an EV car charging station instantly gets your business listed on Google Maps and other navigation apps/sites. People searching for a station will discover about your station and simultaneously, your business. This boosts your brand’s visibility and draws more customers to your business.

2. Brand-customized charging station:

When you host a charger at your business stop, you get some more places to display your brand name, logo, and colors. You build the entire charging station incorporating your brand theme and colors, which gives more prominence to your business to the public.

3. Reflects environmental responsibility:

Hosting an EV charging station shows your commitment to environmental sustainability. This differentiates your business and makes it recognized as an eco-conscious and prestigious brand.

Key Ways To Generate Revenue From Your Dedicated EV Charging Station

An EV charging station helps you generate revenue primarily by attracting more customers, increasing brand visibility and loyalty, and increasing customer time spent/money spent.

While these are the prominent avenues for generating revenue from your EV charging station, we have classified the key income streams for you.

1. Direct charging fees:

This includes the revenue you earn from the EV drivers by allowing them to charge at your station.

2. Collaborations with multiple partners:

You can collaborate with other brands or shops and display their ads on signage, charging posts, railings, etc. This helps you add some extra income by leveraging marketing opportunities at your station.

3. Rent for leasing your parking/unused space:

This is the fixed monthly income you get by leasing the parking /unused space of your business shop or restaurant to an EV charging service provider. It starts paying you the rent once the station starts operating.

4. Increased customer loyalty:

To get their EVs charged, customers are induced to spend some time at your business place or store. This subsequently gives you a chance to make more sales to the customers by providing high-quality products/services, offering discounts, and enhancing their experience at your shop.

Current Locations of EV Charging Stations In The USA

The future of the auto market is simply going to be dominated by electric vehicles. With the sales of EVs experiencing outstanding sales growth of 65% in the previous year, we are sure to witness a higher percentage than that this year and beyond.

With the electric vehicle adoption rate so high, it leaves us with one question, “Are there enough charging outlets in the country?”

The country needs a robust and expansive network of charging stations in all states and federal policies regarding EV infrastructure is being planned for that. However, with many private automobile companies and EV charging companies intervening in the market, numerous stations are being installed at convenient locations.

So, what does the present map of charging stations look like?

With more than 14040 stations installed, California is the state with the highest number of EV charging stations. It has a lot more stations than New York, which has 3254 stations. Other states that have some average number of stations are Florida (2766) Massachusetts (2334), Texas (2412), Maryland (1290), Washington (1647), Georgia (1537), Pennsylvania (1271), and Ohio (1201).

States that are truly lagging in having a proper EV infrastructure and have the lowest number of stations are Alaska, North and South Dakota, Mississippi, and Wyoming. All of them have less than 100 stations with Alaska having the lowest, i.e., 59 stations.

Other states with considerably less number of stations are Minnesota (551), Kansas (463), New Jersey (912), Oregon (982), Tennessee (633), Arizona (951), Michigan (1,109), and Missouri (1,025).

(Source: CNET, numbers of stations are as of March, 2023)

The sporadic distribution of EV charging stations across the states is due to several factors. California and other states got higher cases of installations due to the efforts of the energy commissions and public infrastructure policies by the government. However, several factors are at play that causes differences or oddity in the distribution of EV charging stations.

1. Demographic factors:

Less densely populated states such as Alaska have fewer stations because there are fewer EVs on the road, and hence, there’s less demand for EV stations. States like Nebraska, Delaware, Wyoming, and North and South Dakota have a lower number of stations for the same reason.

2. Geographic irregularity:

The Greater Plains of the country, which comprise 10 states, including Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Texas, Wyoming, New Mexico Nebraska, and Oklahoma are naturally less dense in population. Several factors cause that such as a transitioning agricultural practices and improvement in urban and regional connectivity. Therefore, geographical irregularities are also a reason for the uneven distribution of the stations.

3. Weather:

Many colder states or regions of the country have a lower number of stations because lower temperature drops the battery life. This makes EVs less appealing to people in those regions.

4. Ethanol:

Several corn ethanol-producing states such as Lowa and North Dakota fear the adoption of EVs. It is a valuable subsidized biofuel used by many to contribute to cleaner air. These states have fewer EVs on the road, which subsequently resulted in a lesser number of stations.

Overview Of Revenue Earnings From An EV Charging Station

If the electric charging station business opportunity excites you and you want to get started with your station, here is a summary of monthly revenue earnings. As discussed earlier, there are several charging models, and we calculated monthly earnings accordingly.

Also, charging scenarios vary depending on where your station is located. A shopping mall or retail store will have a certain number of chargers and charging durations, which will be much less than the chargers and durations in an office building.

Based on approximation, here is the monthly revenue for different locations and scenarios.

Visitors wanting to charge

On a short shopping visit While having a meal While having a coffee break During part-day parking During the whole day or night

Estimated parking/charging time 0.5 – 2 hours 0.5 – 1 hour 15-30 minutes 4-5 hours 8-12 hours

Average use of chargers at a standard location $3,000 approx. $1650 approx. $2500 approx. $6300 approx. $4200 approx.

Higher use of chargers at a popular location $6,000 approx. $3,360 approx. $10,500 approx. $12,600 approx. NA

How Installing An EV Charging Station Will Grow Your Business?

While realizing the electric car charging stations business opportunity, you indirectly drive growth in your business. From earning charging fees to cross-selling opportunities, your business is going to benefit from an EV charging station in multiple ways.

Here’s summing up how contributing to the EV charging network by hosting a station at your place helps your business grow.

1. Appealing to customers

Having an EV charging infrastructure at your business center appeals to the customers and raises the footfall at your store. This, in turn, motivates you to make more profits out of your business by turning the visitors at your EV charging station into your customers.

2. Increased sales

Whether you operate a convenience store, a food junction, a shopping mall, or a highway store, having an EV charging station persuades your customers to spend some more time getting their vehicles charged. This gives you the chance to sell your products/services to them.

You can further raise the sales of your business by offering an enhanced customer experience to the visitors of your charging station. For that, provide additional services or offers, like free refreshments, Wi-Fi connectivity, television/music, comfortable seating areas, and proper restrooms.

3. Builds business goodwill

Installing an EV charging station is the smartest way to show your contribution towards sustainability and environmental protection. It gives a positive message to the world that your business cares about future generations and strives to reduce carbon footprints. This uplifts your brand image, differentiates your business from your competitors, drives loyalty from existing customers, and attracts new customers.

4. Enhanced employee satisfaction

You can experience a change in the attitude of your employees after the installation of an EV charging station. This is especially true if you own an office or corporate premises. It attracts the workforce and motivates them to do better/stay longer at the company as it provides them with the convenience of charging their EVs daily. Also, it saves the employees’ time to run to and fro to the charging stations if they have any chargers at their residential building or apartment.

If you are thinking of utilizing the electric car charging station business opportunity at your commercial place, US Supercharge will assist. We are a leading sustainable electric company offering end-to-end assistance to commercial and residential property owners for turnkey installation of EV charging stations. Our team of experienced electrical engineers, hardware experts, and software engineers will help to convert your unused space or parking of your business into a fully efficient EV charging station.

Lease Your Space For Electric Car Charging Station Business Opportunity

The consistently rising market of EVs is sure to be a game changer for the automobile market. While more Americans are shifting to EVs, the government as well as EV companies are opening up avenues for increasing the number of charging stations across the country.

Business owners and real estate property owners are the major players behind the rising number of charging stations. While contributing to the growing EV charging infrastructure, they are gaining additional revenue in the form of new customers, additional spending time by customers, charging fees, and cross-selling opportunities.

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