The road to Olympic gold often starts with training wheels. Watch early videos of top athletes – and you’ll see the struggle they face as they exchange the training wheels, the rink boards, or the floaties for athletic greatness.
It’s time for the EV charging industry to move beyond its “training wheels” and embrace the kind of market-driven innovation that can power them to the top of the automotive industry in every category. While we’re certainly grateful for the federal and state incentives that have jump-started our growth, it’s time to go for automotive industry gold.
With the EV sales market ready to explode into overdrive during the next four years, it’s time for the EV charging industry to prepare to leverage that growing interest. As a recent Statista report found, the EV market should hit $104.7 billion during 2025, which translates into 1.56 million new EVs on American roads.
If the Statista report’s projected sales growth rate of 10.53% between 2025 and 2029 holds, new EV sales should reach 2.32 million by 2029. Combine those new cars with those that pull out of the sales lot in the intervening years – and the nation’s EV charging companies will have to work overtime to keep up with the demand.
Keeping that splendid market outlook in mind, it’s time to plan for that shift now. Let’s look at several ways our industry can leverage consumer interest, market dynamics, and the innovative technologies that drive zero-emissions transportation forward to dominate the automotive fueling industry during the next decades.
1. Forge Partnerships with Utilities and Auto Dealerships
It’s not a matter of “If you build it, they will come.” To reap the benefits of the coming EV boom, EV charging stations need both EV owners and a grid that can handle the extra load that more EVs will produce. You can develop both by partnering with local utility companies and auto dealerships.
Utility Companies
Utility companies have much to gain from increased EV use. After all, they’ll get a share of the price your customers pay to charge their cars. Instead of gas stations and the oil companies getting the spoils, it will be them who will benefit.
However, some local grids haven’t invested in the massive upgrades they’ll need to meet the increased demand from the millions of new EVs that will be rolling down the roads.
As you look for potential sites for your new EV charging stations, loop the local utility in on your plans. Knowing that they will increase their own profits from providing energy to your charging stations can motivate them to upgrade their infrastructure.
For that reason, it’s essential that you provide accurate estimates of your potential revenue. With those estimates, the utility company’s leadership can sketch out forecasts of what they could gain by investing in the equipment and personnel they’ll need to support a significant increase in EV charging.
One more thing – vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. Utilities that offer the opportunity for EV-owning customers to cash in on their extra energy by feeding it back into the grid can help sweeten the pot for car buyers looking for their next vehicle.
It’s well worth the effort for utilities, too. With a cadre of EV-owning customers, they will have access to their customers’ stored energy during threatened blackouts or storms.
Auto Dealerships
Auto dealers want one thing: to sell more cars. Their customers want the most bang for their buck.
Make it worth their while to pitch prospective buyers on EVs instead of gas-powered ones by offering a year – or even a few months – of free charging. Provide them with pamphlets showing how much customers could save on fuel and maintenance by purchasing an EV, making it even easier for them to get the sale.
And, if you’ve partnered with the local utility company from the start, they, too, might offer the dealership incentives that could sweeten the deal for customers. Utility companies that have provided such incentives have already seen an uptick in EV adoption in their areas. The car dealerships that partner with charging companies and utilities will reap the benefits of the coming growth of EV ownership.
2. Support Research on Conquering Adoption Challenges
As a recent US Department of Transportation post points out, there remain a few bumps in the road toward wide-scale EV adoption nationwide. Certainly, solving the problem of charging time can go a long way toward building consumer confidence in EVs.
Faster Charging Technologies
EV charging infrastructure companies, therefore, should invest in faster, more efficient charging technologies that can both boost EV ownership and support the increased numbers of EV drivers needing to charge their cars. Shorter charging times mean more people can charge their vehicles in the same amount of time. And, as EV charging times inch closer to the time it takes to pump a tank full of combustible fuel, more and more people will consider driving an EV instead of their usual gas guzzlers.
Range Extension Research
While several EV brands have now extended their high-end models’ ranges up to 500 miles on a single charge, the more affordable models still have some work to do in providing drivers with vehicles that can compete with their gas-guzzling equivalents.
However, carmakers aren’t resting on their laurels. With innovative research in cold weather range extension, EV manufacturers’ engineering teams have developed several breakthrough technologies that could change the playing field in the next few years. Meanwhile, charging companies can help ease the demand by building more charging stations – especially DC fast chargers – in underserved locations, mainly along well-traveled roads in rural areas.
3. Prioritize Charging Reliability and Standardization
Scaling up available charging opportunities is indeed a critical ingredient in driving EV adoption. However, no matter how many charging stations companies install, the infrastructure must be dependable if they want drivers to trust the technology.
Stacy Noblet makes this very point in her recent Forbes post. When EV charging companies provide their customers with a stellar experience, the industry as a whole will grow.
Solving Standardization Challenges
Indeed, the move toward charging standardization through the North American Charging Standard (NACS) can go a long way toward providing customers with a seamless experience. That’s just the start, though.
Charging stations must educate their customers on how to use NACS adapters or NACS connectors on newer NACS-native EVs, as should car dealers. Then there’s the port location issue.
Since the NACS technology began with Tesla vehicles, Supercharger stations best accommodate Teslas, whose charging ports are on the back of the car on the driver’s side, as Noblet points out. Even though adapters enable non-Teslas to use Superchargers, their charging ports’ designs often make it awkward to connect the cars’ ports to the charger. In some cases, non-Teslas require two parking spots to connect the cable to their vehicles.
That’s frustrating. Automakers need to design their new EVs with charging ports in the same location as the Teslas.
Fixing Reliability Issues
Charging station downtime remains a concern among EV drivers. As a Canary Media article shows, station uptime “averages 84 percent” – an unacceptable number compared to gas stations’ uptime.
Card readers, too, need an upgrade if EV charging companies want to turn their customers into brand advocates. As Noblet puts it, “the technology is a frequent point of failure.” Making card readers more reliable – or replacing them with plug-and-charge equipment or more dependable technology – will be necessary if the EV industry wants to realize its great potential.
4. Encourage Local Businesses to Install EV Chargers
Certainly, installing EV chargers can present a challenge to businesses that want to leverage the EV boom to generate more revenue. It can prove a costly investment, and new construction can be messy. However, it’s well worth the effort, especially if the stations serve a specialty market, such as the growing commercial EV space.
Working with an established EV charging company can help businesses avoid most of the risk and stress. Although the charging company might get the lion’s share of charging revenue, the business will generate plenty of profit itself.
Not only will the business generate passive revenue from the chargers, but it will also attract more customers to its primary business. After all, EV drivers will appreciate the convenience of charging their cars where they shop, eat, or work.
Since a turnkey solution to installing EV chargers onsite can benefit businesses, it pays for EV charging companies to offer such a solution to businesses that don’t want the hassle or expenses of handling the installation or day-to-day operations.
Get More Innovative Ideas to Supercharge your EV Charging Business at the Summit
If you want a healthy dose of inspiration – and information – to help you discover ideas that can take your EV charging business to the next level, the EV Charging Summit is a must-attend event. With experts from every facet of the EV charging industry, you’ll come away with a treasure trove of valuable knowledge and the courage to put it to use.
Don’t wait until the last moment. Register for your spot at the Summit today!
