Oil and gas companies are in a great position to embrace the e-mobility revolution – they already have strong, well-established brands, thousands of fueling stations, and intimate knowledge of their customers’ fueling habits.
They are uniquely positioned to directly solve the issues already in play for electric vehicle drivers – many EV drivers are unhappy with charger availability, quality, and stability, and many suffer from range anxiety. Consumers are increasingly demanding reliable charging networks and the ability to charge wherever they are – which oil and gas companies can provide. A recent study reveals that EV drivers would prefer charging at gas stations if they could.
Most oil and gas players already have the bulk of the customer-facing infrastructure in place, with branded credit cards, billing, apps, and the ability to implement special offers. Furthermore, they have an additional profit center built in – convenience stores. These can enhance EV drivers’ charging experience with easily accessible, safe, manned sites with food and beverage options, restrooms, etc.
Market Forces Demanding Evolution
The market is further demanding that oil and gas players embrace e-Mobility. Oil and gas providers in Germany are now required by law to offer EV charging. Incentives for internal combustion engine-based vehicles are being eliminated with increasing regulations and national policies driving the move to electric vehicles. Government fleets and public transportation are going electric.
On the consumer side, 25% of car buyers are considering an electric vehicle after seeing a decline in air pollution during the COVID-19 lockdown. Projections say that 57% of new passenger cars sold will be electric by the year 2040. This is on top of a decrease in oil demand due to gasoline and diesel displacement by electric vehicles.
Moving Forward to e-Mobility
Some oil and gas companies have already installed EV chargers at their gas stations and have branched out to:
- Offer EV fleet and workplace charging
- Combine EV charging with fueling cards
- Deliver energy management and supply demand response solutions
- Install shopping center EV charging solutions (e.g., Tesco and Lidl) – where in some countries, by law, every 10 parking spaces must include at least 1 EV charging spot
Oil and gas companies have the real estate and the customer-facing systems. They just need to supplement their networks with specialized EV charging-focused infrastructure and options such as information about nearby available EV charging stations, reserve-ahead capability, roaming between different charging networks, and the ability to reduce prices during non-peak hours. These additions will accelerate their journey to become major e-Mobility service providers.
Driving the Change
Driivz’s end-to-end EV charging and energy management platform gives oil and gas companies the power to seize the significant opportunities and make the most of the advantages that EVs will bring.
Driivz’s oil and gas customers benefit from using these platform modules:
- EV charging operations management
- Bespoke billing capabilities and integration with existing billing solutions
- Advanced energy management – Energy optimization will enable O&G companies to offer fast and ultra-fast charging
- Convenience store point-of-sale integration
- Driver analytics and business dashboards allow O&G companies to better understand customers’ charging habits and diversify their service offerings
- Integration into established roaming platforms
Learn more about how Driivz technology can help you diversify your business offerings to create new revenue streams.
