For many dealerships, as EV volumes increase, the need for cheap and data led onsite charging becomes less of a nice-to-have and more of an operational and financial necessity, writes Dianne Smith, UK sales manager at Vaylens.
Range, lead times and model availability tend to dominate, while charging is treated as something to work out later. That approach is becoming harder to sustain as the push to electric continues to increase.
Dealerships are being asked by OEMs to install more charging infrastructure as EV volumes increase and OEM dealer standards tighten, based on projected volumes, often with limited knowledge of the investment costs, site requirements and software that allows for operational control, billing and revenue.
More infrastructure is going into the ground, yet much of it is underused and not clearly connected to the day to day operational requirements of the site.
Today we see examples of sites with high volume fleet vehicle sales requiring access to more charging than those sites predominantly more retail focussed having to revert to expensive public charging at busy periods.
Or, vehicles being delivered with little charge requiring customers to spend the first half hour of owning their vehicle in a public charging site. Not great for NPS scores!
The investment required is all too often a blocker to installation and money is spent on quick fixes (eg 3-pin plugs) in a bid to keep costs down and manage competing investments like showroom upgrades etc.
Dealerships, in the main, view their charging infrastructure as a cost centre and are often unaware of the potential to turn that investment into a revenue stream.
Building charging into the business model
If charging is going to play a larger role in the dealership environment, it needs to be integrated into sales, service, fleet and dealer management systems from the outset.
Many dealership sites now have multiple charge points in place. Some are used for vehicle preparation, others support servicing, employees and visitors to site.
Others sit unused for large parts of the day and night. What is often missing is a clear strategy for how those assets can be utilised to generate new revenue streams, increase footfall and drive customer loyalty.
Charging now spans multiple environments. Drivers move between home charging, public networks and workplace or shared infrastructure depending on their circumstances.
It also means looking differently at the role of the dealership site itself. Charging infrastructure should not sit in the background or be limited to internal use.
The right infrastructure can also provide a service to customers who require cost effective charging at certain times of day. In many cases, it can be opened up more widely to increase utilisation and generate additional revenue.
Better infrastructure use creates opportunities
This commercial opportunity remains underdeveloped. Dealership margins are tight and new revenue streams are difficult to establish. But better use of existing infrastructure can deliver meaningful incremental value.
It can also increase footfall, bringing customers back onto site more regularly and offering free or reduced charging to drive footfall from new customers.
The challenge is managing this without adding significant workload to the main responsibilities of dealerships.
As charging requirements grow, so does the need for better visibility and control. Dealerships need to understand how their infrastructure is being used, who has access to it and when capacity is available. They need to balance vehicle preparation, customer charging and potential external use without disrupting core operations.
This is where software becomes important. With the right tools, sites can manage access, monitor usage and plan infrastructure around real demand.
Instead of installing infrastructure based on broad assumptions, dealerships can plan around real demand. They can avoid additional costly investments in adding EV chargers while still meeting OEM requirements and customer needs.
This is both a technical and operational change in thinking. Charging needs to be treated as part of the P&L, not solely a CAPEX and operational cost that sits alongside it.
When it is built into the overall site and group profitability objectives, it becomes a key source of additional revenue and a practical asset for the business.
Dealerships that take this approach will be better placed to weather the transition from ICE to EV while still able to support customers and meet OEM standards.
Author: Dianne Smith, UK sales manager, Vaylens
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