In this blog, David Cornish, Head of Product at Techniche, considers the importance of a robust EV charger maintenance plan to build brand and customer trust.
It’s fantastic to see increasingly frequent announcements of new destination charging hubs – such as the recently constructed HyperHub in York. This one particularly caught my attention with its zero-cost charging, environmentally friendly solar canopy, and on-site energy storage capability. The pace of new technology employed in these charging hubs is exciting to watch.
And the fanfare being given to each hub opening is deserved. Destination charging hubs are a vital to the successful adoption of electric vehicles. The more fast charging hubs there are, the greater the confidence EV drivers will have in making longer journeys, giving them the same security that diesel or petrol car drivers have that they will be able to re-‘fuel’ quickly, wherever in the country they might be.
If, that is, when the driver arrives to charge, the chargers are not out of action.
The reliability of charge point infrastructure is critical to widespread EV roll-out and essential for delivering a good customer experience. Unfortunately, the chance of finding a broken or out of service charger remains relatively likely, according to recent studies, including this survey by UC Berkely.
Chargers not working can quickly become a brand issue for charge point owners or operators. It is rare to see a forecourt fuel pump out of action for days or weeks. In our experience of working with some of the world’s largest fuel retailers, the typical resolution time to fix a fuel pump in is in the range of 4-8 hours. Other than the issue of lost revenue, fuel retailers understand the importance of reliability on their forecourts for their brand and customer trust.
The UK Government Consultation (‘The consumer experience at public charge points’, updated March 2022) concludes that the reliability of the UK public charge point network is improving, but that further improvements are required to dive confidence, including timely maintenance and fault repair to ensure a minimum of 99% reliability across the charging infrastructure.
At present, the great UK EV driving public rates their satisfaction with experiences at public EV charge points at 2.16 out of a possible 5 (www.evaengland.org.uk) To me, it’s clear that the industry needs to work together to change that perception, and that introducing robust maintenance programmes is a good place to start to tackle the reliability of charge points.