What does a site host gain from charging?
The DIY store's manager watches a driver plug in and walk inside. Twenty-five minutes later the driver returns with a basket of tools.
The store does not run the charger. It owns the car park.
The questionWhat does the store get out of the charger?
- Landbays and space
- Operatorbuilds and runs
- Rentfixed per year
- Landbays and space
- Operatorbuilds and runs
- Shareper kWh or per session
- Landown car park
- Hostbuilds, buys services
- Revenueall of it
Which arrangement fits depends on how much risk and work the host wants.
Customers who stay
For many hosts, the charger's main value is not its revenue but its effect: drivers who charge stay longer and spend more, and choose the site over another. Supermarkets, DIY stores, hotels and restaurants use chargers to attract customers, and some offer cheaper or free charging to them.
Where cars charge, and for how long, is explained in Charging infrastructure, stop 05.
What the host gives
- Space: bays that are not available for normal parking, and space for chargers and a transformer.
- Time: a often running ten years or more, so the operator can pay off the investment.
- Access: opening hours, lighting, signage and, ideally, access at all times.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
In a lease arrangement, what does the site host receive?
A lease pays a fixed rent; a revenue share pays per kWh or session; own operation keeps all revenue.
Why do retailers often welcome chargers on their car park?
The charger brings and keeps customers; that is often worth more than the rent.
Why are leases for charging sites often long?
Chargers, connection and civil works are paid off over many years of operation.
- Lease The contract that lets an operator use a site's parking bays and space for its chargers for a fixed term, often ten years or more, in return for rent or a revenue share. Glossary