What EV drivers want from the public charging network and why it matters for landowners

As public EV charging grows, its direction will be shaped by customer preferences. Elizabeth Warren , interim Director of Public Charging at Mer, sheds light on what drivers from public charging want and why it matters for landowners.

The market for electric vehicles (EVs) is changing as the range of people opting for EVs expands. Inevitably, the charging infrastructure market will develop too. This presents both challenges and opportunities for the roll out of new public charging infrastructure.

Demand for public charging is high and is set to grow. In the UK, almost half of homes aren’t suitable for private charging, and therefore rely on the public charging network. For drivers who can charge at home and work, research shows a large portion still rely on the public network to charge. With around 1.1 million EVs on UK road currently, estimates suggest that will increase to anywhere between 8-11 million within the next six years, pushing demand for public charging even higher.

To make progress on increasing public charging infrastructure installations, and for landowners and car park operators to make the most out of installing charge points, it is crucial that everyone understands the needs and preferences of customers. Knowing what drivers truly want will help to direct what, where, and how much is installed. It will also make clear the commercial opportunities for sites across the UK.

Location and availability as leading differentiators?

In some respects, current EV drivers are looking for ‘the basics’ to be done well. Research suggests that price, reliability, and charging times are what drivers are looking for when they decide on a public charge point to use. This is understandable. With any service, we want the basics to be done right at the very least. In most cases, those basics are already being done right. However, the market has developed massively over the last decade or more, and different preferences come to the forefront.

Location and availability of chargers are both important factors for drivers. Until we have ‘enough’ coverage for all EV drivers – which will be hugely more in the future – location and availability will continue to be differentiators. People want to use chargers that are conveniently located. Unless they have planned for it, they don’t want to detour from their journey route too much. When they arrive at a charging location, they really want a plug to be available for them. Mer’s research shows that the number one factor attracting people to a charging environment – by a significant margin – is the availability of charge points and the absence of a queue. Maybe this is a British phenomenon, maybe not. But 78% of drivers are drawn to locations where they know they won’t have to wait to charge.

For potential charge sites that are well located and are able install a large number of chargers, this customer preference is a clear opportunity. Not only is installing charge points an additional revenue stream for your business, but your offer will be differentiated from the outset, appealing to more customers than many existing locations.

Reliability on paper and in practice

Reliability is also high on the wish list for drivers when it comes to charge point preferences. Research shows that in Europe reliability is drivers’ second most important consideration when they charge in public. Because of this, new UK Government legislation has been introduced to ensure that chargers have a 99% level of uptime. The reliability of chargers will be measured as the mean average across a charging network’s charge points of 50kW and above. Chargers will be considered ‘unreliable’ if they’re broken or otherwise inoperative. Maintenance work or ICE vehicles blocking the space doesn’t count. If charger networks drop below 99%, charge point operators (CPOs) will be fined.

While fines help to introduce a level of incentive, this does not necessarily improve the situation for customers. Fines will ultimately end up being passed on to the driver in some form or other through the pricing structure.

Fines are also unnecessary. Charge point operators (CPOs), and everyone within the EV infrastructure market, are already incentivised to keep charge points working. If they are broken, it is a big problem. It is a loss of revenue and hit to your reputation. Having chargers offline doesn’t help the sustainability of a charge point operator’s business.

Importantly, when it comes to Mer, we see positive associations for reliability. Sixty-nine per cent of Mer drivers are ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with Mer reliability. And almost one-third associate reliability as a top key word they associate with our chargers.

For landowners, working with reliable partners like Mer should be a priority. Unreliable charge points mean a fall in your revenue, which makes it an unsustainable business for landowners as well as CPOs.?

The effect is multiplied by consumers’ perception of unreliability too. If your location has several offline chargers, then people will tend to avoid your location altogether. We know availability is the primary consideration for drivers, so consumers won’t come to your site if they know the odds of your chargers being unavailable are increased because a portion of them are offline or damaged. As a consequence, utilisation rates across your site fall. For landowners, sustainable business means partnering with a reliable charge point operator.

Where to next?

Undoubtedly, customer preferences will change. The EV market will mature further, and, as with any sector, customers will come to expect and prefer different things. For example, as batteries increase in range, customers may ultimately prefer destination charging hubs, rather than the larger portion (50%) who currently prefer enroute rapid charging. Similarly, as the second-hand EV market takes off, there will be a huge increase in the number of EVs on the road, coupled with more variation in the demographics of people that drive them. This may lead to landowners wanting to install more varied types of chargers in locations that are currently underserved.

Whatever direction things go, we are now at a stage where customer preferences and experience will lead the way. You can learn more about the experience of owning an EV here.?