Companies regard charging stations often as a sensible investment. They like to turn them into a business model. But why would you do that if it’s not your core business?
You can only spend your money once…
Okay, okay. I am preaching to the choir and trying to convince you that you should not invest in charging stations because we want to do it for you.
Well, it’s our core business, you know.
We love to install charging stations at your location.
However, I mainly want to protect you from a fiasco with this blog post.
Some months ago, we established that there is still much ignorance about EV charging. That’s why you deserve to best possible advice. Unnecessary risk often translates into high bills.
If you’re unlucky …
- Installation gets more expensive.
- More cable is needed than expected.
- No future expansion is envisaged.
- The repaving costs more man-hours than anticipated.
- Raw material prices are rising.
An excess of 30-35% is no exception, with all sorts of nasty consequences. The malfunctions in the long run or the premature need for expansion mean you have to cough up a hefty sum while you have yet to earn back the previous investment.
One of our first customers, the owner of a small restaurant in Brabant, was planning to buy and install charging stations himself. After receiving several quotes, he calculated that three charging sockets would cost him 25,000 euros. All-in. This shocked him. According to his calculations, earning this amount would take at least six years. If he used this money to renovate two hotel rooms, he could charge 20 euros more per night. The upshot was that he left the charging stations’ purchase, installation, and maintenance to us.
Why invest in charging stations if it is not your core business?
There is so much more to it than meets the eye. What do you do if someone drives a charging station out of the ground? Do you know about software updates and modem adjustments? What do you do when in 2030, over 30% of cars will be electric, and you will need many more charging stations to meet the electricity demand? Can you monitor and manage a smart charging station system based on load management?
Each company will have a different argument. From conversations with customers, it has become clear that investments in the core business generally generate more turnover than an investment in charging stations.
A large office complex facility manager recently told me he did not want to invest in charging stations because the return was too low. Small fruit’, he said, not worth it. Instead, he upgraded the building and opted for a full charging station service. He wanted to avoid calling a mechanic whenever there was a problem. It would be a waste of time and energy.
For which companies is our Charging as a Service concept best suited?
- Companies without money that still want to offer charging services
- Companies that believe ‘atypical activities’ should not cost anything.
- Companies familiar with charging stations’ importance but only have money to invest in their core business.
- Companies that understand that only a massive bulk of charging stations provide an appealing return on investment and do not feel like setting up an organization to manage and maintain 25 stations for a few hundred euros profit annually.
As a theme park director said: One should think twice about investing 80,000 euros in a charging station with 10 stations or use the money to buy a new roller coaster and let a charging station specialist take care of it all for free.
At Pluq, we tend to think it’s a no-brainer…
