Widespread EV adoption is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and recharging the planet by mitigating climate change. More EVs means more demand for public EV charging. Helping to meet climate goals while meeting the need for EV charging is a natural fit for parking lot and garage operators looking for revenue growth opportunities.
The timing couldn’t be better. Public parking lot and garage owners, along with parking management companies that handle day-to-day operations, were hit hard by the pandemic. Travel restrictions, e-commerce, work-from-home, and the rise of ride-hailing cut revenues for the paid parking industry by as much as half.
The Evolution from Parking Space to EV Charging Spot
In response, the industry is reinventing itself. Parking lots and garages are transforming into mobility centers that offer new services and leverage new technologies. The centerpiece of the new services is EV charging. By turning parking spaces into EV charging spots, parking operators can generate new revenues from the sale of electricity.
Two factors support this business opportunity. One is that as EV adoption grows, the population of EV drivers will change to include a greater share of people who don’t have access to home charging. They need a way to charge elsewhere. The other factor is behavioral. EV drivers want to charge where they park, whether that’s while they work, shop, keep appointments, or go to events. The exception is in-route charging for long-distance travel, when EV drivers need to charge where they happen to be.
Advantages of Combining EV Charging with Parking
EV charging can help you revitalize your parking business and return to growth in a number of ways:
Generate new revenue – Price your EV charging to meet your revenue goals, whether that is to cover costs, provide premium parking options, or generate profits. EV charging offers the flexibility to meet many business models, from per-Kwh of consumption to time-of-day pricing to special offers like free charging on your slowest days.
Attract new customers – Drivers make parking choices, and EV drivers make charging choices. Increase the competitive draw of your facility by providing EV drivers with a multi-use park-and-charge option.
Future-proof your business – EVs are coming, and so is increasing demand for charging infrastructure. With all the major automakers committed to EV production, the transition to electric mobility may happen faster than we think. The time to prepare your business for the future is now, when government funding and rebates are available to help with upfront investments.
Deliver a seamless customer experience – Integrate all aspects of your EV charging and parking services, from apps that enable drivers to locate chargers (and your facility) to making reservations to payments (pay-as-you-go or monthly subscriptions).
Extract new value from real estate and operations management investments – In addition to generating more revenue per square foot for owners and themselves, parking management companies can incorporate EV charging management into existing operations, including both staff and infrastructure.
Considerations for Getting Started
While one option for adding EV charging to parking facilities is to partner with an EV service provider, mid-sized and large parking management operators are well-positioned to install, own, and operate the charging infrastructure. With this approach, you can maximize revenues and maintain control over costs and quality of service.
A significant decision will be the selection of an EV charging and energy management platform. Start by finding a software provider with a proven track record in the EV charging industry that can meet your business and charging management needs from start-up to full-scale-out. Parking management operators will also want a software platform that offers:
- Operational excellence, with the ability to monitor, manage, and heal chargers remotely
- Support for complex business models to enable monetization of your charger investments
- Smart energy management so you can balance available power across all chargers in use and avoid demand charges
- Scalability to manage multiple charger types and unlimited numbers of chargers across your properties
- API-based integration with your existing operations management systems
- Access to industry innovation along with support for industry standards
- Exceptional charging experiences for drivers, from white-label apps to roaming
Leverage Your Resources to Meet the Demand for EV Charging
As EV adoption accelerates, demand for publicly available EV charging infrastructure will only grow. Parking owners and operators have a significant business advantage in meeting that demand: you already own the parking spots and the real estate, you have operational infrastructure and people in place, and you have commercial electrical service at your locations.
Learn how the right EV charging management software can help you successfully offer EV charging to your parking customers and drive new revenue. Read “The Decision Maker’s Guide to Selecting an EV Management Platform.”
