Stop 04 of 08 · Around the charger

What does a site host gain from charging?

About 6 min · 3 questions ·

Saturday
The situation

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?

Three arrangementsHow site hosts take part
LeaseA fixed rent, little risk.
  1. Landbays and space
  2. Operatorbuilds and runs
  3. Rentfixed per year
Revenue shareA share of sales, shared risk.
  1. Landbays and space
  2. Operatorbuilds and runs
  3. Shareper kWh or per session
Own operationAll revenue, all risk.
  1. Landown car park
  2. Hostbuilds, buys services
  3. Revenueall of it

A retailer can hand the operation to a charge point operator and receive a lease or a share of revenue, or run the chargers itself and take on the roles of operator and provider. Which arrangement fits depends on how much risk and work the host wants.

Customers who stay

For many hosts, the charger's value lies less in its revenue than in its effect. The EHI Retail Institute rates the customer loyalty a charging offer brings as higher, the more a retailer invests in it; in its simplest scenario, charging is not billed at all. Running the chargers itself gives a retailer more control over customer contact and prices, but brings extra costs and duties.

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 contract long enough for the operator to pay off its 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.

01Question 1 of 3

In a lease arrangement, what does the site host receive?

02Question 2 of 3

Why can a retailer welcome chargers on its car park?

03Question 3 of 3

Why does an operator want a long contract for a site?

Further in other paths

  1. Charging infrastructure · Stop 03Which permits and contracts does a site need?Lease, grid connection, energy supply, building permit, backend and roaming: the agreements behind one charging hub, and who signs them.
  1. Lebensmittel Praxis: Ladesäulen selbst betreiben: wann sich der Eigenbetrieb für Händler lohnt, with Cathrin Klitzsch, EHI Retail Institute, 1 October 2026. https://lebensmittelpraxis.de/zentrale-management/49951-leser-fragen-ladesaeulen-selbst-betreiben-wann-sich-der-eigenbetrieb-fuer-haendler-lohnt.html. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
  2. EHI Retail Institute: EHI-Leitfaden Elektromobilität im Handel 2020, sample: three scenarios from basic to future, with billing and customer loyalty. https://www.ehi.org/wp-content/uploads/Downloads/Leseproben/EHI-Leitfaden_E-Mobilitaet_Leseprobe_neu.pdf. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
  3. Lebensmittel Praxis: Ladesäulen selbst betreiben: wann sich der Eigenbetrieb für Händler lohnt, with Cathrin Klitzsch, EHI Retail Institute, 1 October 2026. https://lebensmittelpraxis.de/zentrale-management/49951-leser-fragen-ladesaeulen-selbst-betreiben-wann-sich-der-eigenbetrieb-fuer-haendler-lohnt.html. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
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