Dealer groups could have as much as £300,000 in unattributed electric vehicle (EV) charging costs, according to charge point software provider Fuuse.
Fuuse has launched a system allowing car dealers to assign individual charging sessions and their costs to specific departments, vehicles or cost centres.
The Session Cost Allocation feature will become available from October 1 and will demonstrate who is using delaer groups’ charging infrastructure and for what purpose.
This will allow businesses to separate the cost of charging vehicles for preparation, demonstrations, servicing, company fleets, employees and customers.
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EV charging can disappear into one cost centre
Roger Hunter, chief executive of Fuuse, said: “As EV volumes grow, dealerships can no longer afford to treat charging as an unallocated overhead.
“Dealers wouldn’t hand over a tank of fuel without understanding the cost, yet EV charging across vehicle preparation, demos, servicing and fleets can all too easily disappear into one big pot.”
Hunter said unattributed charging could cost dealer groups as much as £300,000, making it more difficult for management teams to understand departmental expenditure and the use of their infrastructure.
He added: “Session Cost Allocation gives dealers the visibility to make smarter commercial decisions.
“It’s about protecting margins, understanding where their infrastructure is being underused and unveiling opportunities to recover costs or generate new revenue.”
Dealer groups can separate charging activity
The software will allow each charging session to be assigned to the relevant department, cost centre or vehicle.
Fuuse said the resulting data could help dealers identify underused charge points, recover appropriate costs and make better-informed decisions about future infrastructure requirements.
The system could also give multi-franchise dealer groups a clearer view of charging expenditure across different dealerships and operational activities.
Fuuse currently provides charge point management software to 17 AM100 dealer groups and hundreds of dealerships.
The new feature is being trialled by several of its existing motor retail customers ahead of its wider launch on October 1.